From September 25, we no longer have to keep a distance of one and a half meters, but that is not possible without a corona ticket, pediatrician-epidemiologist Patricia Bruijning tells the NOS. “This is really aimed at keeping the number of infections under control and preventing a huge resurgence because you get a lot of infections in crowded places.”
A corona ticket must therefore be shown in many more places than now, such as in the catering industry, cinema and theater. Bruijning says that a large part of the population is now protected, but a part is not. “If those people all get sick at the same time, then we will have another problem in healthcare with a shortage of IC beds.”
According to the epidemiologist, you cannot say with certainty that the small two million people who are not protected are too small a group to fear a new revival of the virus. “If you let go of the measures now, you may get through the winter in a good way. But there is also a real risk that that is not the case, so you should maintain some measures.”
Darkest months of the year
Here Bruijning also refers to the major corona outbreaks around festivals in July. The abolition of the one and a half meter measure is the opposite of this. “It applies to everyone, regardless of whether you are protected or not. It is also true that this rule does not take into account the setting where someone is located. The measure with the corona pass does, it is there for those places where many people come together”.
People who have not been vaccinated will therefore have to do more by the end of this month to gain access to crowded places. “They have to be able to show test evidence or they have to go through the infection, but that distinction will come.”
Bruijing says he hopes that no new measures will be necessary after this. “We still have to be careful this coming winter season. The corona pass will help, but the ultimate goal is that we will get rid of these measures including pass.” When that will be exactly, Bruijning cannot say. “After the darkest months of the year, you can take stock again.”
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