Cabinet does not dare to say goodbye to corona pass yet | Inland

It is possible that something will be done about the maximum occupancy of 75 percent that concert halls without fixed seats still have to use. The cabinet will probably decide on 5 November whether or not to delete or adjust the remaining corona measures. The corona pass is the most important of these. With the pass, a QR code on the smartphone or printed on paper, visitors prove that they have been vaccinated, tested negative or cured from corona. The admission ticket acts as a gatekeeper in the catering industry, theaters and at sports competitions.

Concert halls

Furthermore, the mask obligation in public transport, the limited opening time for the catering industry until midnight and the maximum occupancy for covered event locations and concert halls without fixed seats up to three quarters of the capacity. The cabinet is considering a modest relaxation in this latter area, so that event locations such as Ahoy and Ziggo Dome can once again sell out their halls. If the figures are positive, then the limited closing times for the catering industry can also be released, so that nightclubs can also run fully again after a year and a half. Another option is to delete the pass in the art and culture sector, or to make it compulsory for a certain group size.

Deleting the corona pass completely, the cabinet considers going too far under the current circumstances, those involved report. The situation in hospitals, the seasonal effect and the remainder of the unvaccinated – 17 percent of adults have not been vaccinated – would still be too uncertain. Moreover, you cannot go back to it once the pass has been abolished and hospitals are still overloaded with corona patients.

The decision still depends on what the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) advises. The team of medical scientists will meet this Friday. The meeting is intended to put the ‘thermometer in the bath water’. It was expected that the number of positive tests would increase. For the time being, this will not lead to increasing pressure on healthcare. There are currently 469 corona patients in hospitals, 128 of which are in intensive care. However, OMT members are not yet convinced that this will continue.

QR-code

In the meantime, according to the Ministry of Health, the CoronaCheck app does not cause any major problems, although the behavioral unit of the RIVM has not yet investigated experiences and support for the measure. “For most people, the app works flawlessly,” said a ministry spokesperson. The app has been downloaded 12 million times. About 40 million times data has been retrieved from a vaccination or test to create a QR code. According to the ministry, things are becoming quieter at the help desks.

The OMT will issue a new recommendation on Monday 1 November, after which the cabinet will probably make a decision on Friday 5 November. The deletion of the corona pass is not yet one of them. This despite the plea of ​​former State Secretary Mona Keijzer, who already called for it to be deleted as soon as possible when the pass was introduced because the measure is ‘inexplicable’. After her interview in De Telegraaf, she was fired because she had broken the agreement that the cabinet talks with one mouth.

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