LIVE | No exodus of Germans now that Mallorca is becoming a high-risk area | Inland

16.40 – Possible test costs on return at your own expense

If Dutch holidaymakers need a negative test to return home after August 8, and have to incur costs for this, these are for their own account. That is what the Ministry of Health says.

After August 8, stricter rules will apply for returning to the Netherlands: travelers must be able to demonstrate that they have been fully vaccinated, have recently had corona or have tested negative.

A PCR test may be a maximum of 48 hours old upon departure to the Netherlands, an antigen test a maximum of 24 hours. This means that people can, for example, spend several days on their return journey, as long as they can demonstrate that the test was no more than 48 hours (PCR test) or 24 hours (antigen test) old on departure.

Not in every country there are costs associated with a test, emphasizes a spokesperson for the ministry. People can go to Wijsopreis.nl for information about the differences between countries.

Violation of the new rules will result in a fine of 95 euros. For example, if a couple with three unvaccinated children older than 12 years old returns to the Netherlands without having the children tested, they will be fined 95 euros per child.

On www.nederlandwereldwijd.nl you can see per country where people can go for a corona test.

16.39 – Germany-goers are not deterred by new rules

Dutch holidaymakers who plan to spend a holiday in Germany seem to go for the most part as usual. Campers are not deterred by a quarantine obligation from Tuesday for people without full corona vaccination, booking sites for ACSI Suncamp and Vacansoleil campsites say. However, many questions come in.

According to sales manager Frank Jacobs of Suncamp, uncertainty is the key word in the many phone calls that the organization says it receives. “People want to know where they stand. They ask if they can go to Germany and what the rules are.”

Dutch people from 6 years old must be quarantined for five days from Tuesday if they have not yet been fully vaccinated or have recovered from an infection. In addition, all Dutch citizens must complete a digital form to enter the neighboring country. This is due to the high number of infections in our country and the German classification of the Netherlands as a so-called high-risk area.

The stricter rules are more difficult, especially for families, says Jacobs. Many children have not yet been vaccinated. But according to him, it does not lead to mass cancellations. “The image is that the Dutch simply go to Germany.” The cancellation options at Suncamp depend on the individual campsite. Sometimes money back is an option, other times a voucher or a rebooking to another location.

At Vacansoleil, campers can rebook to another destination or later time, but according to the booking site, this is ‘not or hardly’ used. “People just want to go to Germany.” According to a spokesperson, this could be because people can go outside at a campsite other than in a hotel and in case of quarantine already have their own bubble. He does say that the number of Dutch bookings for a German holiday at Vacansoleil decreased by 20 percent compared to previous weeks.

The picture at holiday parks varies. Like the camping sites, Centerparcs also received more questions and not many more cancellations or requests to rebook. This is partly because people often opted for a holiday in their own country. “Normally there were 30 to 40 percent Germans in our Dutch parks, this year that had already been reduced to 15 to 20 percent,” says Centerparcs, which sees that most foreign guests still want to come. This also applies to Dutch people who would go to a German park.

Landal GreenParks states that unvaccinated Dutch people sometimes like to rebook to a park in their own country. There would be room for this in the fully booked parks because Germans take the opposite route.

15.16 – No exodus of Germans now that Mallorca becomes a high-risk areagebied

Many German tourists in Mallorca don’t seem to let their vacation be ruined by the tightening of travel policy in their home country. The German authorities designate Spain and the Netherlands as high-risk areas. As a result, stricter rules will apply from Tuesday to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Travel organization TUI informs news agency DPA that few holidaymakers have cut short their holiday on the Spanish island early. A spokesperson could not give specific numbers, but emphasized that there does not appear to be a major exodus of German holidaymakers. “On the contrary.”

The trade association Deutsche Reiseverband of travel companies speaks of a ‘relatively relaxed’ situation. According to a spokeswoman, there are more questions from customers, but there would be no question of a wave of cancellations.

An estimated 400,000 Germans are currently on holiday in Spain. Among the people who have booked a package holiday, the Balearic Islands are especially popular. Mallorca also belongs to this archipelago.

On the island, the beaches were still full on Monday at a popular nightlife location in Playa de Palma among Germans. Time is running out for Germans who want to avoid the stricter travel policy in their homeland. From Tuesday, stricter quarantine rules will apply there for people who return after a stay in Spain or the Netherlands.

Germans who are now going back can prevent them from having to self-isolate with a corona test. After Tuesday, such a negative test result is no longer sufficient. Then returning holidaymakers will only avoid quarantine if they can prove that they have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from the corona virus.

These rules do not only apply to adults, but also to children from 6 years old. That is inconvenient for some holidaying German families. Adults are in many cases already vaccinated, but that usually does not apply to their children.

14.25 – Young people can bring forward the appointment for a second shot

Young people for whom an appointment is scheduled for a second shot of their corona vaccination from 16 August will soon be able to bring this appointment forward. They will receive a text message from the GGD in the coming days, after which they can call for an earlier appointment.

It was already clear that the time between the first and second injection for young people could be shortened to 21 days. But planned appointments for the second shot could not be brought forward yet, the GGD reported earlier this month. At that time there was not enough vaccine, but now the stock of Pfizer vaccines is large enough and there are more injection slots available than necessary.

Therefore, already planned appointments for the second shot can also be brought forward, as long as there are only three weeks between the first and second shot. The cabinet wants to be “ready for the new school year” after the summer holidays, explains care minister Hugo de Jonge.

It is easier for young people to reschedule the appointments, because in principle they have only been vaccinated with Pfizer. Last week, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) also issued a positive opinion on the use of the Moderna vaccine for young people between the ages of 12 and 17. The Health Council is still considering that advice, but De Jonge has already indicated that the use of Moderna for young people is not very likely in the short term. In any case, it will not speed things up, according to the minister.

Young adults over the age of 18 received both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, making it more “complicated in the implementation” to shift the second shot, the health ministry reports. “When enough vaccines become available, the acceleration of the group above 18 years will start.” For that group, there should be four weeks between the two injections.

08.00 – Fewer buses, even after corona

The longer we work from home en masse, the more difficult the financial situation of companies in public transport will become. No income without passengers. So provinces and transport companies are forced to cut schedules for city and regional buses. From next year, buses will make less frequent stops throughout the country. Some routes will be canceled altogether, Trouw writes.

These include bus lines from the transport companies Arriva (North Brabant, Limburg and Friesland), Keolis (Overijssel and Gelderland) and Connexxion (North Holland and Flevoland). The exact extent of the clearing is not yet clear. Provinces are heading for 10 percent fewer bus rides compared to before the pandemic, their plans show. The reduction will affect dozens of bus lines. The restricted timetable is already running in some regions.

The transport companies (NS, city and regional transport) are struggling with millions of losses due to the corona crisis. To prevent trains and buses from running altogether, the government guarantees up to 95 percent of public transport companies’ deficits, which amounts to 1.5 billion euros for this year, and another 240 million euros until September. 2022.

07.00 – Vaccination data shared with RIVM without permission

Vaccination data from seven hundred patients were shared with RIVM without permission. This is apparent from inquiries by BNR with the organizations involved.

After previous problems with recording vaccination data in the central register of the RIVM, the data of hundreds of patients has now been distributed without permission. Before a vaccination, you are asked whether the information may be shared with RIVM. Due to an error in one of the GP systems, the personal data of seven hundred vaccinated persons was nevertheless shared without permission.

Five hundred people have clearly indicated that their information should not be shared. It is not known whether two hundred patients have given their consent. A total of seventy general practices are involved in this, BNR reported after inquiring with the software developer. The developer says that this is a temporary software error and that the problem has now been resolved. RIVM also confirms that it has incorrectly received personal data.

06.00 – ‘Patients should be able to choose digital care themselves’

Patients should be able to choose for themselves whether they want digital care. Due to corona, almost a third of outpatient visits have already been done remotely. Healthcare insurers in the Netherlands and the Patient Federation of the Netherlands argue in the AD for a right to digital help.

Figures from the Dutch Association of Hospitals (NVZ) show that during the first lockdown 70 percent of the consultations were digital, in the first quarter of 2021 it was still more than 30 percent.

Health insurers Netherlands (ZN) and Patient Federation Netherlands believe that patients should be given the right to choose what kind of care they want: digitally or at the healthcare provider during consultation hours. “Even with a difficult conversation, it can be nice to do that via a screen at home, because then you can have everyone there, for example. Sometimes that doesn’t even fit in a consulting room,” says ZN director Petra van Holst. In addition, it saves travel time, patients do not always have to take part of the day off for a doctor’s visit and the pressure on care is reduced.

05.00 – Officers injured in French corona protest, dozens of arrests

During the French corona protests on Saturday, 29 police officers were injured and 71 people were arrested, authorities in the country reported a day later. Demonstrations were held in various places against the ‘health pass’ and the vaccination obligation that the government wants to introduce for healthcare staff, among others, to protect patients against the corona virus. The demonstrators think that duty goes too far.

In total, about 160,000 people took to the streets to express their displeasure. Protesters clashed with the police in Paris, among other places. Police used tear gas and water cannons there. In Marseille, protesters turned against a camera crew from television channel BFMTV.

Other demonstrations resulting in unrest were in Lyon, Nantes and Toulouse.

Check it out here corona news from Sunday 25 July.

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