The current corona measures in the Netherlands will certainly last until December. This is what the Dutch Minister of Health Hugo de Jonge said on Tuesday during a press conference.
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According to de Jonge, it will take a while before the infection rate with the corona virus is sufficiently reduced. According to the minister, the Dutch ‘partial lockdown’ has ensured that an infected person now ignites less than one other on average. The Dutch r-number is now 1.16, but the registration of this reproduction number is lagging somewhat behind, according to the minister.
Earlier, the cabinet had said that the stricter measures would last four weeks, starting in mid-October. Only when the virus is under control again can the cabinet allow more freedom as long as everyone adheres to the basic rules. “Until then, it’s just a matter of persistence.”
The Dutch government will evaluate the current measures next week and will determine whether even stricter measures are needed.
The Dutch government wants to have the r-number certainly below 1, so that the virus is under control more quickly. In fact, the reproduction number is now approximately 0.88, De Jonge estimates. He wants to lower that number even further. This is possible with the measures that now apply, says the minister.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte thought it was too early on Tuesday to draw any conclusions about the effects of the measures. Only later in the week will more clarity come about the consequences of, among other things, the closure of the catering industry. But the picture is ‘not unfavorable’, according to the prime minister. The contamination figures show a flattening pattern.
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