The cabinet will not continue with the controversial 2G system for the time being, in which only people who have been vaccinated or recently recovered have access to events and part of the catering establishments. Testing beforehand is no longer sufficient. Minister Kuipers has postponed the bill for the time being.
According to the minister, there are still many questions about 2G that need to be answered first. In a letter to the House of Representatives, he writes that it must be investigated under what circumstances it can be used. “So it can be a proportional measure.”
2G is controversial and there is no broad support for it in the House of Representatives; only coalition parties VVD, D66 and CDA are outspoken in favor. A vote in the House is on the agenda for today to withdraw the 2G bill. The SGP has submitted that motion, together with MP Pieter Omtzigt. ChristenUnie and GroenLinks have already indicated that they support this proposal.
‘Do not throw away’
The cabinet has always indicated that it does not want to remove 2G from the table. “Let’s not throw it away just yet,” Prime Minister Rutte said recently. Kuipers previously said that 2G is necessary if the cabinet wants to relax the corona rules “and at the same time keep the pandemic under control to some extent”.
One of the reasons 2G is controversial is that its effectiveness is questioned. Research by TU Delft showed two weeks ago that the number of corona infections hardly will be slowed down with the introduction of 2G.
Kuipers writes to the House that in view of the Delft research there is “no need” to make 2G possible in the short term. The minister asks the House to wait for the extra research and therefore not to vote 2G away today.
SGP leader Van der Staaij says that the motion will be put to the vote this afternoon:
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