Catering entrepreneurs are angry now that they have seen that Minister Grapperhaus did not keep a distance of 1.5 meters at his own wedding. Catering boss Rien van den Hoek from Utrecht does not accept that fines are handed out in the catering industry and that the minister gets off “so easily”.
Van den Hoek himself has not yet been fined, but he has already received an official warning because two people on his terrace did not keep enough distance. If this happens again, he will be fined and must temporarily close.
In an open letter to Minister Ferd Grapperhaus, he writes: “Shall we treat the hospitality industry as the only sector where less than 2 percent of infections have been detected the same as everyone else, instead of making the hospitality industry responsible and punishing others for the behavior of others? Because well, we do everything we can, but sometimes it just doesn’t work. ”
Also read: One fifth of the Dutch are more lax with corona rules after the Grapperhaus blunder
‘Just let us do our job’
According to Van den Hoek, his staff often has tears in their eyes because they no longer know how to do it properly. “So much stress from the corona rules. We already do everything. You keep looking: is there a boa coming? We can no longer cope with that stress. ”
Also read: Grapperhaus still finds itself credible after ‘corona fuss’ around wedding
He advocates constructive regulation rather than punishment. “I hope to get that pressure off in the hospitality industry,” Van den Hoek tells Hart van Nederland. He experiences pressure because he is held accountable for the behavior of his guests. “If Mr Grapperhaus doesn’t even manage to keep a distance of 1.5 meters, don’t ask us. Just let us do our job and just let the guests pay attention. ”
‘Give and take’
The Horecazorg Action Group also rings the bell with the minister. The group writes in an advertisement that it sometimes happens in the catering industry that people do not keep a distance of 1.5 meters. “Just like the hospitality industry, you have noticed how difficult it is to remain faithful to your corona rules,” the ad wrote. Receiving guests on other meters the action group calls “sometimes more luck than wisdom”.
The group of catering entrepreneurs, just like Van den Hoek, thinks it is crooked that Grapperhaus dismisses his blunder with apologies and that they will be fined if they go wrong. “As far as we are concerned, you are not immediately an aso,” the entrepreneurs told the minister. They hope the minister is just as forgiving. “It’s give and take, just like in marriage.”
View the images of the wedding party of Minister Grapperhaus here
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