The Dutch Government has said it will ease its COVID-19 restrictions from Wednesday despite record reported infections, which have come despite the restrictions and the country being 90% vaccinated. The BBC has the story.
Dutch hospitality settings, including bars, restaurants and museums, have been shut since December 18th in a bid to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.
But despite the restrictions, COVID-19 cases have continued to increase, with some 60,000 now recorded per day.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte told a news conference that the country was “taking a risk” in easing the restrictions.
Mr Rutte, who has faced growing calls for a relaxation of restrictions in recent weeks amid falling deaths and admissions to intensive care, added that the new rules will be effective until March 8th.
Cafes, bars and restaurants will be allowed to open until 10pm, though to gain entry patrons will be required to show a negative test result, prove they are vaccinated or have recently recovered from a coronavirus infection.
Nightclubs will remain closed, and capacity at sporting and cultural events will be limited to 1,250 people.
The reopening follows a wave of anger from many hospitality sector employees, who were left disappointed by the government’s decision to allow shops, gyms, hairdressers and sex workers to resume business on January 15th while their sector was kept in lockdown.
Cafes in several cities opened in defiance of the restrictions the weekend before last, and dozens of museums and theatres opened as beauty salons for a day in protest.
Public support for the strict measures has also waned steadily over the past month and large demonstrations against the rules have become more frequent in the capital, Amsterdam.
Mr Rutte alluded to this anger during his news conference, telling reporters that the government was “consciously looking for the limits of what is possible, because of the great tensions and cries for help in recent days”.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Ernst Kuipers warned that the virus is “not the flu”, but said that relaxing the curbs was important.
“Living for longer with restrictive measures harms our health and our society,” he said.
It’s almost as though lockdowns and vaccines don’t prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Worth reading in full.
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I still look at that chart of ‘cases’ and wonder.
Is there a chart which factors in excess mortality in some way? We know that during the first wave there was a noticeable increase in excess mortality. Cases were low because there wasnt a test. You only became a case if you were ill, and pretty ill at that because you needed to seek out medical attention. I was ill during that time with covid like symptoms, though not so ill that I would have taken a day off work for it. But I wasnt a case despite symptoms, whereas since last summer there have been huge numbers of cases without anyone even having any symptoms thanks to our great testing.
I don’t believe that the Great British public has an automatic right to two weeks holiday abroad no matter what.
I am reminded of a young tradesman at the beginning of ‘austerity’ complaining that his bank had refused to furnish him with yet another loan for his annual break in Ibeza and how this was against his ‘rights’.
About 15 years ago I bit the bullet (soz irony) and commissioned a private dentist to do a large amount of expensive work on my teeth. This meant I could not afford to go abroad that year but the relief from pain was well worth it (and still is).
Further I do not see how a dearth of cases/deaths in much of the UK should impact upon where and when we can go abroad.
I realise that this view will not be popular but I am beyond caring though I am prepared to look on as people vent their spleen against our vindictive and spiteful government.
It’s not a two weeks holiday for those of us who have not seen our children and grandchildren and wider family who live overseas. You stay at home if you wish, I really want to see my family and friends. My husband is 77 and wants to kiss his daughter before he dies.
The issue is about freedom to choose – dental treatment, holiday abroad, new car….etc. etc. That’s what been taken away from us, based on a pack of lies from ministers (incompetent buffoons) who cannot admit their original panicked reaction was wrong
Indeed there is no such thing as an ‘automatic right to a holiday’ – all kinds of things might stop you going on holiday. However, the government should not be one of those things. If countries want to close their borders to visitors, that is their prerogative. Making it illegal for their own citizens to leave – unacceptable in any circumstances.
That appears based on whether you believe the human has a set of inalienable rights given by God upon his birth – birth rights as it were.
Or that your rights only exist as those that are provided to you by your govt or institution. Institutions exist and formed and defined by people other humans. So you are accepting that another person has the right to decide where and what you can do and go. Where do you draw that line?
The first idea is solidified in the US constitution enshrined in the idea of man being born free. The second exists as an idea that is a form of slavery.
All these regulations are part of the blameworthy and deflection culture in this country. Politicians using successfully when the main culprits for this disaster are themselves and the NHS.