Wanted: more risk, more guts with the corona approach. “Not every relaxation should be seen as a step closer to the abyss.”
Louis Kroes is not alone in pushing for a less restrictive policy in the corona crisis. But within the world of virologists and epidemiologists, where the emphasis is usually on reducing the number of infections, arguments that criticize the current lockdown are not really prevalent. Nevertheless, as professor of clinical virology (Leiden University Medical Center), Kroes sees room for relaxation.
If the omens don’t deceive he will be Monday be disappointed again by the cabinet, which finds the figures in terms of infections and hospital admissions still too worrying. It confirms Kroes in his idea that a ‘zero-risk policy’ is being pursued, in which every corona death is one too many. “You shouldn’t look for just maximizing this security. You are also not going to stop motorized traffic because there are road deaths every year. A zero-risk policy for IC occupancy is not realistic. ”
Alarming forecasts
The alarming forecasts of the RIVM about the British variant of the coronavirus, which in reality has less drastic consequences, confirm in Kroes’ eyes that policymakers and their advisers always assume the worst case scenario. Under that pressure, the Dutch are locked up at home after nine in the evening.
According to Kroes, the cabinet assumes’ extremely gloomy scenarios with ‘large margins of uncertainty’. The simple idea is then: better safe than sorry; assume the worst case, then it can only be better than expected. But that is also risky. Because in addition to the group of vulnerable people at risk from the corona virus, there are also the interests of millions of Dutch people who are at risk due to the stringent corona approach. Their health suffers from passivity, for entrepreneurs income is at stake, for pupils and students their future, people become lonely. You have to take those risks into account. ”
Kroes therefore believes that the margin that he believes there is for easing should be used as much as possible. “I understand the principles of the policy. In the first wave, with the doom image of the ic’s flooding, I found the lockdown understandable. But that extreme scenario is no longer clearly visible. That does not happen overnight either. That is no reason to go to great lengths to contain the pandemic. ”
“Prime Minister Rutte said at the previous press conference that we were going to take a risk by reopening secondary schools. It would be good now to consciously take a little more risk and to reopen terraces, for example. And with the reopening of gyms you will achieve enormous health gains. ”
Different perspective
The high contamination figures are not yet an obstacle for Kroes. “It is precisely those figures that are not a good indicator in themselves. It is only about the consequences for vulnerable groups, who are also increasingly protected by vaccination. The fact that the virus is circulating among young people does not say anything about that. I do not reject the policy. But I approach it from a different perspective. ”
Kroes has little hope that there is much support within the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) for his plea. “After more than a year in crisis mode, the OMT is not really open to new ideas. It is no small task, after all this time. Of course we have to keep an eye on the variants of the coronavirus. Especially the British variant is quite widespread. But for the time being, this has not led to the drastic consequences for which there are always warnings. You cannot flatten the discussion by saying: yes, the British variant…. ”
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