LIVE | Cabinet consults in Catshuis, on the day of possible new infections record Inland

Read the latest news about the corona crisis from home and abroad here.

The main points:

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07.14 – Cabinet discusses further corona measures in Catshuis

What new measures are needed to halt the spread of the coronavirus is the question that must be answered in the Catshuis on Thursday. In the prime minister’s official residence, the cabinet discusses what steps are necessary.

The ministers involved will be updated by RIVM boss Jaap van Dissel, who will explain the advice of the Outbreak Management Team (OMT). The experts of the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) met on Wednesday. Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte and corona minister Hugo de Jonge alluded to further restrictions last week, including a wider introduction of the corona ticket. The QR code would then become necessary for access to, for example, non-essential shops.

Last week’s press conference also discussed the possibility of introducing the corona pass in the workplace, without it being an obligation from the government. But there is a lot of resistance against this idea in the House of Representatives.

The measures will be explained on Friday by Rutte and De Jonge, but traditionally leaked out a day earlier, after the Catshuis consultation.

The Security Council will also consider new corona measures on Thursday evening that the cabinet wants to announce on Friday. As chairman of the security regions, the 25 mayors of the council are responsible for the implementation and enforcement of those measures.

The mayors meet digitally. In any case, outgoing minister of justice Ferd Grapperhaus will be there, and probably also outgoing corona minister Hugo de Jonge.

The mayors have repeatedly emphasized that enforcement of measures is a major burden, especially if each municipality has to determine its own policy. The mayors also believe that the responsibility for managing the corona crisis lies with citizens and entrepreneurs. As far as they are concerned, enforcement is the final piece.

07.00 – Record?

The record for most positive corona tests in one day may fall on Thursday. On December 20 last year, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) reported 12,997 positive tests. Wednesday’s figure remained just below that at 12,713, Thursday’s figure could break the record. Thursday is day 624 of the epidemic in the Netherlands.

The number of positive tests has increased rapidly in recent weeks. At the end of September and the beginning of October, about 1,700 new cases were added every day. In the last seven days, there were more than 10,000 new positive tests.

It has never happened before that the Netherlands stayed above that limit for so long. In July, the Netherlands had more than 10,000 new cases on five consecutive days, and in December there was a series of six days and a series of three days above the limit.

06.58 – Germany reports a record number of more than 50,000 infections

The German health authorities have again reported a record number of new corona infections. On Thursday, the Robert Koch Institute for Disease Control (RKI) reported 50,196 new infections. Never before in the pandemic has the country registered so many infections in one day.

There were 39,676 new cases on Tuesday, which was also a record. 235 deaths from the coronavirus were also reported in Germany on Wednesday.

06.55 – Experts: the blunt ax of the lockdown is still necessary

The question is inevitable. Will there be a lockdown? Nobody knows. Is a lockdown necessary? Yes, according to Bert Niesters, virologist at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), and Jochen Mierau, health economist at the University of Groningen (RUG), among others. That is what Trouw writes.

It is not expected that the cabinet will announce a lockdown on Friday. After all, other European countries where the virus is gaining ground are also not talking about lockdowns like last winter. Niesters and Mierau do not hope for a repeat of last year either. That is why they are critical of the approach of the government that reacts too late. Again.

06.33 – Healthcare drivers against corona pass in nursing homes

Branch organizations of nursing homes and elderly centers see nothing in a possible mandatory corona pass to stop the rapidly increasing number of infections in such institutions. Other national measures – such as visiting restrictions – are also not desirable. ActiZ board member Conny Helder and Verenso chairman Jacqueline de Groot let NU.nl know in a response.

According to Helder, a mandatory corona admission ticket is impracticable. “A lot of people come to visit. We ask them to wear a mouth cap, to ensure hand hygiene and to keep sufficient distance.”

De Groot also has doubts about the contribution of a corona admission ticket and is concerned about the requirements that would be imposed on family members. She compares the situation to having a cup of coffee with the neighbors. “It would be very drastic to ask for a corona ticket, especially just before the holidays.”

Both healthcare directors insist on compliance with the basic measures, which, according to the Outbreak Management Team (OMT), should also prevent most infections in healthcare.

06.30 – For the first time almost all of the Netherlands is dark red on the map of Europe

Another five provinces go to the highest alert level on the map of corona cases in Europe. Flevoland, Friesland, South Holland, North Brabant and North Holland are still red, but will turn dark red on Thursday due to the high number of positive tests.

The five provinces join Limburg, Gelderland, Overijssel, Zeeland and Utrecht, which already went to dark red last week. Only Drenthe and Groningen will remain on the red for the time being.

The European health service ECDC started using the maps more than a year ago. It is the first time that so many Dutch provinces are at the highest level.

Limburg remains the biggest fire source. In the past two calendar weeks, the period ECDC is looking at, 11,653 residents there have tested positive. That amounts to 1043 new cases in every 100,000 people, or 1 in every 96 Limburgers.

Flevoland is the fastest climber. There were just under 3,100 positive tests there in the past two calendar weeks, an increase of over 55 percent from last week’s map. In Overijssel, the number of positive tests rose the slowest, at about 25 percent.

The ECDC, the organization to which the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) is a member, looks at the number and percentage of positive tests in the two previous calendar weeks for the cards. The European corona map has four colors. From low to high, these are green, orange, red and dark red.

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