There will be no national corona commemoration this year. It seemed to the cabinet “inappropriate” to continue with the preparations “now that we seem to be in a new wave”. It is still unclear whether and how the consequences of the pandemic will be considered at a later date.
Allowing the ‘Standing about Corona’ moment to take place during increasing infections can – unintentionally – send a signal that the period with corona has ended, Minister of Health Ernst Kuipers writes in a letter to the House of Representatives.
A spokesperson for responsible State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen (Public Health) says that consideration is being given to choosing a time when the chance of a new corona wave is smaller, such as spring.
In March it was announced that a special committee would come up with plans for ‘Reflecting on Corona’, as the commemoration period is formally called. The national commemoration would become part of that.
The committee headed by the Frisian King’s Commissioner Arno Brok has not been disbanded, but the work has been put on hold for the time being. Earlier, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said that both a national day and a monument can be part of the commemoration.
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