‘I understand hospitality entrepreneurs’
‘Something can be a relaxation on paper, but still work better. We have to learn from how people deal with policy
‘Take the terraces as an example. ‘I understand catering entrepreneurs who point to all those people in the Noorderplantsoen who drink beers in groups without any checks. Then it is better to sit one and a half meters on the Grote Markt; then you have an idea of it. ‘
Smarter to expand something
Another example: out-of-school care (out-of-school care) is still closed, because children come together there in a different composition than at school. ‘But children don’t go home after school. They go to play together in playgrounds afterwards or are picked up by other parents because they play together. ‘ Opening out-of-school care is therefore not a real relaxation, says Mierau, while it can offer parents a lot of air.
In short, according to Mierau, quite a few things are possible and it can even help to comply with and enforce the measures. ‘It is smarter to expand something to a situation that we will adhere to.’
‘Crisis stage is long gone; requires a different approach ‘
The Groningen health economist is now becoming increasingly critical of how the cabinet is dealing with the crisis. Because, he says, it is no longer a short medical crisis. ‘It’s a long social crisis, with a medical component.’ He finds it unimaginable how little account is taken of the consequences of all measures on people’s physical and mental health.
‘A comparison: most of the time in the development of vaccines is spent on research into side effects. Moreover, if a few people get a side effect, the entire vaccination program will immediately come to a standstill.
‘Medicines with side effects’
The corona measures are actually also a type of medicine with side effects: the social condition of people, what it does to children; all open questions. So we have been administering medicines to society for a year now, but we still have no insight into those side effects! ‘
Now that we are a year later, this is really no longer possible, says Mierau. ‘That was logical in March last year, but we are one year later. We know everything about the virus and all kinds of models calculate the impact of measures on its spread. But we know too little about the long-term effects on society and then too little account is taken of them in policy. ‘
‘Leaking again and again is bad’
Communication also continues to falter, says Mierau. Long before the press conference on Tuesday evening, we know what’s coming. “I was very disturbed this weekend that a radio program on Saturday night made it clear between nose and lips that the lockdown should last another two months.”
‘The impact of such a message is enormous’
Mierau refers to the interview with virologist and OMT member Marion Koopmans at Met het Oog op Morgen. ‘The information should not be released in small pieces, without the entire message.’
‘The impact of such a message is enormous,’ says Mierau. ‘It is no longer March 2020, but March 2021. Keeping it up for two more months now means that we will go from month twelve to month fourteen! In those two months, Easter and the May holidays fall to which people have been looking forward to. ‘
‘Caution is advised’
Cabinet advisers should not express themselves in the media between the advice and the decision, says Mierau. “Caution is advised.”
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