Now that the corona graphs continue to explode, various sources in The Hague are strongly considering an early press conference about additional restrictions, perhaps already Friday. Tomorrow the core team of the cabinet will be updated by OMT chairman Jaap van Dissel about the state of affairs.
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This week there should be a ‘kink’ in the infection graph, but it is not yet detectable. With more than 23,000 new infections on Tuesday, an average of almost 40 IC admissions a day and almost 250 new patients in the nursing wards, all signals are on the red.
The cabinet would formally take stock on Friday 3 December whether the so-called ‘short blow’ (catering and shops close early) will have an effect, but there is a good chance that Rutte and De Jonge will have to hold a press conference earlier in which serious interventions will be announced. Yesterday, the ministers reported that everyone should above all adhere to the basic rules: ,,We really hope that we don’t have to report again until December 3 with a press conference,” said Rutte.
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Van Dissel
But now an early cabinet decision is being taken into account and possibly even a press conference next Friday, a source outlines. Another insider states that it is still possible on Monday or Tuesday. “But first we need to hear the state of affairs from Van Dissel tomorrow,” said a source. The OMT chairman will also join the cabinet’s corona consultation. ,,And then the timetable can go into effect, with an OMT deliberation, a Catshuis session and a press conference. But the dates are not fixed.” The cabinet may ask whether the OMT will meet sooner than Friday.
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A member of the OMT states that ‘a small miracle’ has to happen if extra interventions are to prove unnecessary. ,,It is possible, there can be a change, behavior is everything. But of course it looks very bad now.”
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The cabinet is struggling with the next step. With the enormous virus wave, especially generic lockdown rules – closure of sectors such as the catering industry or retail, visit bans, school closure – seem effective, but the question is whether there is sufficient support for such interventions now that more than 8 out of 10 people have been fully vaccinated.
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The virus is now spreading rapidly among primary school students and their parents, but the OMT and politicians have declared school closures a de facto taboo. An initiate from The Hague now reports about this: “Everything is on the table.”
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The 1,5 meter obligation is formally in force again from Wednesday. The cabinet announced this earlier, until that time keeping a distance was urgent advice. From Wednesday there will be a fine of 95 euros for violation of the distance rule, unless you belong to a household. Also in places where the corona pass applies, keeping a distance is not mandatory.
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In the meantime, the House of Representatives wants to take more time to discuss cabinet plans for 2G policy and a corona pass at work and in education. Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health (CDA) hoped that parliament would agree to the politically sensitive plans this week, but the debate will not take place until next week, the majority decided yesterday.
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This also makes it impossible for the ‘short blow-lockdown’ to end on December 3. Rutte and De Jonge hoped with stricter QR and 2G protocols to be relaxed quickly, but the parties have serious doubts about the effectiveness, feasibility and desirability of plans that sometimes create significant barriers for unvaccinated people.
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Watch our videos about the corona crisis in the playlist below:
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