Coronavirus: Schools will continue to reopen on Monday, despite almost 35,000 new infections

Yesterday, 06:37 • 7 minutes reading time

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High school break © ANP

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REGION – Follow all the corona news from Friday 7 January here.

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Record number of infections or not, schools will open on Monday

Schools will reopen on Monday while the number of new corona infections is higher than ever: almost 35,000 in the past 24 hours. It is feared that primary and secondary schools will become hot spots for the omikron variant. Outgoing education minister Arie Slob (ChristenUnie) continues to support his decision, he tells The Stentor.

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“The Outbreak Management Team has indicated that after the schools reopen, the number of infections will increase and the pressure on hospitals will increase,” said the outgoing education minister, who will hand over the baton to Dennis Wiersma (VVD) next Monday. “But to a level that is acceptable. That is why I still support the decision with the knowledge of today.’

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Slob literally waved off as minister on Friday after the Council of Ministers © ANP

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What are the numbers this Friday?

An absolute daily record in terms of new corona infections. Nearly 35,000 people, 34,954 to be exact, tested positive for the coronavirus between Thursday and Friday morning. The previous daily record was set yesterday, 24,700. Due to a malfunction at the RIVM, that number was lower.

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34,954 new corona infections (Thursday: 24,700)
115 new corona patients on hospital wards (total: 1107, -15 compared to Thursday)
16 new corona patients in hospital intensive care units (total: 409, -10 compared to Thursday)
24 people infected with corona have died (Thurs: 12)

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Next cabinet will decide on current corona measures

Outgoing minister Hugo de Jonge (CDA) does not want to anticipate whether there is room to scale down the corona measures. He said that before the start of the cabinet meeting on Friday. That is up to the new cabinet. De Jonge’s successor will be sworn in next Monday: outgoing hospital director Ernst Kuipers (D66).

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‘I expect an explanation of the current situation from the OMT. Hospital admissions in countries where they did not proceed to a lockdown at the beginning of December are rising enormously. The infection rates are four times higher than in the Netherlands. So in the countries around us, where they have not taken such strict measures, you see that the concerns are great,” De Jonge told NOS.

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‘In our country, the measures have led to a slowdown in the omikron wave. But I can’t predict how much space there is. The pathogenicity is great uncertainty of omikron. What space there will be is up to the next cabinet.’ Next Friday, on January 14, there will be another press conference.

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As of next week, De Jonge will be responsible for housing construction in the Netherlands as minister © ANP

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Children under 12 invited for corona vaccine from January 18th

Non-vulnerable children aged 5 to 11 can be vaccinated against the corona virus from the end of this month. Parents will receive a letter between 18 and 22 January stating that they can make an appointment by telephone. The intention is that the first injections will be taken in the following week. This is announced by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).

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In total, almost 1.3 million children are eligible for the corona injections. Children from the same family are vaccinated together, if there is room for it and if parents want it.

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Schools are preparing to reopen after Christmas holidays

Primary schools and secondary schools will open their doors to students again next Monday. After more than three weeks of Christmas holidays, the cabinet has decided that schools can partially open again. Yet there is also a lot of fear among teachers now that the number of positive corona infections is increasing significantly. Teacher Taco Jacobs of Oranje Nassau College understands that fear.

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‘Fortunately, I’m still quite young, so I don’t have much fear of getting really sick, but I do recognize it in my colleagues. It is important for those people to be heard. It is no small feat to stand in front of a full class again’, says Jacobs in the radio program West Becomes Wakker. According to him, it is not wise to have staff members stand in front of the class against their will.

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Despite the dark cloud over the schools, Jacobs is positive about the reopening. ‘You notice above all that the undertone among the children is positive. They are happy to go back to school and see their friends. Although my students really enjoyed the extended Christmas holidays’, Jacobs winks.

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The Oranje Nassau College follows the guidelines of the RIVM and tries to ventilate sufficiently with special classrooms. Nevertheless, Jacobs believes that it is important to remain realistic. ‘They are teenagers. You will have to point them out from time to time to keep enough distance. But we cannot prevent everything. I think you should act within what is reasonably possible.’

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OMT talks week before new cabinet decisions about corona situation

The Outbreak Management Team (OMT) will meet again on Friday to discuss the corona pandemic. A new advice to the cabinet will then follow. That will decide next week about what should be done with the corona measures.

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The virus is currently spreading rapidly in the Netherlands. Last week, according to the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), the number of new positive test results increased by 35 percent compared to the week before. This week the highest daily figure was reported since the registration of the corona infections began.

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Virologist and OMT member Marion Koopmans said on Wednesday that a further increase in the number of corona cases depends on, among other things, the measures taken by the cabinet. However, she also pointed out that the omikron variant of the virus is spreading despite the lockdown already in place. “So the number of cases is going to increase anyway.”

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Following the advice of the OMT, the cabinet already decided this week that schools in primary and secondary education can open again for all students after the Christmas holidays. Students at universities, colleges and MBO will have to make do with online education for the time being.

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Study: slightly later menstruation possible due to corona vaccination

Women who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus may be able to menstruate slightly later than unvaccinated women. The difference is less than one day and probably only temporary. This is according to American research.

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Researchers used anonymized data from 2,400 vaccinated and 1,500 unvaccinated women who tracked their periods via an app. Menstrual cycles were monitored for three months prior to and three months after vaccination. Vaccinated women were found to menstruate on average 0.64 days later after the first vaccination and 0.79 days after the second vaccination compared to unvaccinated women.

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The scientists were unable to provide a cause for the change. Presumably, the vaccination affects the immune system. The length of the menstrual period remained the same. The researchers emphasize that changes in menstruation can have various causes, such as an infection, illness or stress.

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Until the beginning of last month, the Dutch side effects center Lareb received more than 17,000 reports of menstrual disorders after a corona vaccination. About 6.4 million women have been vaccinated. The complaints ranged from heavy or late menstruation to bleeding after the menopause. Lareb concluded from those reports that it is possible that vaccination leads to menstrual disorders. This was also apparent from a Norwegian study, where scientists stated that it is a ‘temporary effect’.

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This woman is getting her corona vaccination © ANP

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Number of deaths falling, just short of excess mortality

The number of deaths in the Netherlands fell for the fourth week in a row last week. Due to a decrease in mortality among the over-80s, there was just no question of excess mortality. In all previous weeks of December, there was excess mortality, according to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

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An estimated 3,500 people died last week. That’s about 300 more than expected. However, there was no excess here. Excess mortality means that more people die than can be explained by usual fluctuations in the mortality rate. On average, in December – just like in November – almost 900 more people died per week than expected.

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CBS does not yet know what caused these people to die. It is known from previous corona waves that the excess mortality was largely explained by Covid-19. In week 52, RIVM registered 105 deceased Covid-19 patients. In December, 1,355 people died from the effects of the corona virus.

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Coronakaart

Check here how many infections there are in your municipality.

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