A majority of the House of Representatives announced this morning in the corona debate a national guideline for the use of masks in public areas
‘Urgent advice’
Prime Minister Rutte has announced that the cabinet will go along with this: the urgent advice will take effect from now on. The cabinet does not want to make it compulsory to wear masks, also because this is legally difficult. Working from home and not shaking hands are also urgent advice.
“It is an urgent advice and it does not replace keeping a distance. For those who want to regulate this legally, we are not going to do that now. I am not in favor of that either”, Rutte explained.
On Friday he will further explain the ‘urgent advice’.
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Shopkeepers
On Monday, the cabinet advised otherwise in the new package of measures. Face masks in busy places were then only recommended in the three major cities, in shops or institutions that wanted them. The responsibility for enforcing this was passed on to the retailers.
The House of Representatives does not think this is the right path. “With this, the cabinet is shifting its responsibility”, said Lilian Marijnissen of the SP. There was also a great call from the hotel and catering industry and retail trade for a national guideline for mouth masks. The cabinet is now responding to that call.
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Stricter measures
All day long, the cabinet debates about the new corona measures announced on Monday. For example, the catering industry must close at 10 p.m. for the next three weeks and an audience is no longer allowed at sports matches.
According to the SP and the PvdA, the cabinet is lagging behind too much and valuable time has been lost. Asscher calls the new corona measures a ‘dangerous gamble’. PVV leader Wilders calls the cabinet’s approach ‘a total chaos’.
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‘No more going abroad on holiday’
GroenLinks leader Klaver thinks that the cabinet should urgently advise holidaymakers not to go abroad for the time being. Yesterday, RIVM director Jaap van Dissel said that returning holidaymakers from Spain and France are partly responsible for the second corona wave in which our country is now located.
‘Overdone’
There are two parties in the House of Representatives that have strongly differing voices: Forum for Democracy and the one-man faction Groep-van Haga.
These parties think the measures are exaggerated and believe that the cabinet is shutting down society unnecessarily.
‘Lost the ball’
According to political commentator Frits Wester, for the first time in the corona crisis, the cabinet has briefly lost the ball in the political debate now that the House has forced further measures to be taken when it comes to stricter intervention around the masks.
According to Wester, the wish of the Chamber is also a sensitive blow to the ears for RIVM figurehead Jaap van Dissel. “To this day he expressed doubts and reservations about the usefulness of masks. Regardless of who is right in that discussion, for the House of Representatives the authority and line of Van Dissel is no longer self-evident.”
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