Rutte drew a parallel with a year ago, when the cabinet announced a lockdown. By now, he says, a positive difference is that many people have been vaccinated. But, Rutte said: “The second difference with last year is less positive. Then we thought that we would be rid of the most strict measures by the fall of 2021. We thought so. But the reality is unfortunately different. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that to clear myself from criticism. There it is. And evaluations will show how much of that criticism is justified. We will not run away from the fact that mistakes are made.”
He added: “Apparently we, and myself, are failing to convey the importance of the ground rules. I blame myself for that.” He even spoke of ‘mistakes’ and apologized. “I am to blame for that.”
Avondlockdown
The cabinet announces new measures. A hard ‘evening lockdown’ will start from Sunday for at least three weeks. In that case, catering, cultural venues, (amateur) sports and non-essential shops must close between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m. Schools can remain open.
Supermarkets may remain open until 8 p.m., but otherwise there will be a ‘thick line’: retail trade, catering, culture – everything must close in the evening, including (amateur) sports, and children are not excluded. “We need to reduce the number of activities and movements by 20 percent to reduce the number of infections,” Rutte said.
During the day, people must also keep a distance of one and a half meters in places that are subject to a corona pass, so that places such as restaurants and cinemas can still run at a third of the maximum capacity.
Education
At schools, students – from group six – should wear mouth caps in the hallway to prevent the virus from spreading. Elderly people from the age of seventy are asked to be careful in their contact with their grandchildren. At home, four people are still welcome to visit.
Rutte said to keep the visit to Sinterklaas ‘limited’ with 4 adult guests and to do a self-test in advance. He said he could not ‘guarantee’ a ‘normal Christmas’. “We’re not sure.”
Rutte thinks that the package should bring the reproduction number ‘well below 1’. “In the next two, three weeks.” The cabinet will then hold another press conference on 14 December.
wave of contagion
A core team of ministers met for hours on Thursday in the Catshuis, the cabinet took a decision today. On request, RIVM calculated the exact effects of this ‘evening lockdown’. Those results are convincing enough to take this step, according to a source. According to the OMT, the number of contacts must be reduced by a quarter to calm the aggressive delta wave.
The cabinet does not want to do too little again to quell the wave of contamination. After all, the measures taken two weeks ago were insufficient.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Health) have been accused all autumn of intervening too late and too softly. At the same time, ministers are also hesitant to lock up too much of society, now that citizens are tired of measures and more than eight out of ten Dutch people have been fully vaccinated.
Hospitals in a pinch
After the Council of Ministers, De Jonge reported that hospitals must now cancel all planable care, the so-called 2D phase has been formally announced. ICs need to further expand the number of places. “All hip, knee and cataract operations must therefore stop everywhere. To free up hands, so that covid care can continue. For the umpteenth time people hear that their surgery is being cancelled. Come and help in the hospital, we also say. Help your colleagues in the covid department, help them in the ICU.”
Defense will assist, the hospitals will now expand the IC capacity from 1,000 to 1,150 beds, after which a temporary expansion to 1,350 beds should be possible. Only then will ‘code black’ – the moment when not everyone has a better chance of getting a place – come into the picture, says De Jonge. Phase 2D was also in effect from January to May due to the busyness in hospitals.
This phase is more difficult for the cabinet than then. In those earlier waves, solidarity and unity were self-evident (as in March 2020) or there was a view of the vaccines that were to prevent lockdowns.
But a vaccination rate of 85 percent does not offer sufficient protection against the delta variant, so many people wonder: what is the perspective now?
Education
Freddy Weima, chairman of the education organization PO-Raad, calls it good news that the OMT advises to keep schools open. “We call on the cabinet to follow this line. During previous school closures, we have seen that it is extremely important for children to go to school with classmates. That does not alter the fact that schools are now facing unprecedented challenges due to corona and the teacher shortage.”
–
