‘Almost a hundred festivals less in July than in 2019’
Despite the relaxation for major events in July, there are not many festivals on the agenda yet. That is what the Festivalinfo news site informs the ANP. There are almost a hundred fewer festivals to visit in July than in 2019. A total of 49 festivals will take place in the Netherlands in July, according to the editor-in-chief of the Dutch festival news site. In July 2019 there were still about 146. Most of the canceled festivals have moved to 2022. Some have been moved to later in the summer or in the fall.
It is no surprise that most festivals cannot go on yet, according to Berend Schans, director of the Association of Dutch Poppodia and Festivals (VNPF). ‘We had to wait a long time for the guarantee fund. If it had happened sooner, organizers would have dared to make tough commitments sooner,” he says. For example, some festivals are short on time with suppliers or they do not get the permits in time with the municipality or province. Moreover, there is still a considerable shortage of personnel here and there, says Schans. ‘It’s custom work. If you compare it with a normal year, 2021 is indeed less busy.’
From June 30, festivals can continue without major restrictions. Visitors do not have to wear a mouth cap and the one and a half meters away can also be released. They must be tested beforehand or have a vaccination certificate. In the event of multi-day events, interim tests must also be carried out.
‘Schools did too little about ventilation before reopening’
Schools have done too little during the lockdown to get the ventilation in order before they were allowed to open again. Despite the fact that schools were closed for a long time due to the corona measures, and a government coordination team urged schools to improve their ventilation, relatively little action has been taken, according to the industry association Indoor Climate Netherlands. Orders have also been postponed. This would have caused a significant backlog of installation of these systems.
Chairman Wouter Wijma of Indoor Climate Netherlands says that his own ventilation company Ned Air sells about thirty to forty percent more than in previous years. The number of schools that purchase from him has increased slightly, but not by much. According to Wijma, there is too little decisiveness in schools to provide better ventilation.
During the pandemic, education minister Arie Slob set up the National Coordination Team for Ventilation in Schools (LCVS). According to this team, twenty percent of the school buildings, or about two thousand buildings, turned out to be not or insufficiently ventilated. Wijma estimates that this actually concerns forty to fifty percent of the school buildings. He is looking at a different set of requirements than the one the LCVS maintains. He would have liked to see schools use home education as an opportunity to provide schools with good systems, but this, according to him, failed to materialize. He does not have precise figures on this.
Testing for Access in The Hague not easily accessible
The reopening of nightclubs, discotheques and other night-restaurants has resulted in a sharp increase in the number of entrance tests. In The Hague, potential walkers have to travel to the outskirts of the city for this special Testing for Access location. The Hague VVD and various entrepreneurs are concerned about this.
Because, how great is the willingness to enter the entrance test of young people who, for example, have to cycle fifteen kilometers for an entrance test? Read more here.
Rutte: one and a half meters is leading from now on
One and a half meters still have to be kept, but otherwise almost everything can go back to normal. Many corona measures will be relaxed this Saturday. As long as people don’t come too close to each other, there are hardly any rules in force. All publicly accessible locations can open again, the cabinet announced last week. To be able to keep distance, a maximum number of guests applies depending on the floor area. If it is not possible to keep a distance, the rules are stricter.
Face masks are compulsory in public transport, by taxi, at stations and airports. The same applies to secondary education. Nightclubs can open again, but only if those present can show a test or vaccination certificate. Incidentally, other catering establishments can also choose to only let people in with such proof if they want to let go of the one and a half meters. All this within the regular opening hours, which also apply to the sale of alcohol in the store.
There are no rules for maximum group sizes at home or outside, amateur sports competitions can be held again and those who can work from home only have to do so for half of the week. Singing, blowing and screaming can be done as usual. Events requiring a permit will have to wait until Wednesday before they can start again.
Coronakaart
Check here how many infections there are in your municipality.
– .
