The Dutch Minister of Health Ernst Kuipers cannot guarantee that there will not be a new lockdown in the country. That depends, among other things, on the possible emergence of new, seriously ill and highly contagious corona variants, against which the current vaccines do not work. That is what Kuipers said in a parliamentary debate about his long-term approach to corona.
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jvhBron: Belgian
Today at 08:13–
Kuipers said he could not indicate when stricter measures are needed. In the previous crisis, the pressure on care and the occupation of intensive care were important factors in the measures to be taken. “But the situation is different now,” said the minister. “There are and will be other variants, and many people have already been infected. I cannot now predict whether the number of infections will be the leading factor, or whether a variant is pathogenic.”
Kuipers also made it clear that the Dutch government currently has no legal options to impose measures, such as wearing mouth masks or keeping a distance. That legal basis disappeared after the Senate rejected a new extension of the Temporary Corona Act in May. Only after an amendment to the ‘Public Health Act’ would the government be able to impose mandatory measures again. A proposal to that effect was submitted by Kuipers in August.
If the emergency is high, Kuipers could resort to emergency regulations, as was the practice in the Netherlands at the beginning of the corona crisis.
Vaccination
Kuipers does not share the concerns of the Dutch parliament about insufficient capacity at the Municipal Health Services to be able to vaccinate many people quickly as soon as necessary. Three million people can be vaccinated within six weeks. That seems sufficient to him.
However, he is concerned about the vaccination rate: the turnout in the last round of vaccinations was “disappointing”, the minister said. In that round earlier this year, all people over 60 and people with vulnerable health were able to get a second booster shot. A lot of people haven’t done that.
Intensive care capacity
Kuipers does not want to meet the widely shared wish of parliament to expand the capacity of intensive care. That capacity is sufficient, he said. There are now 993 operational IC beds, beds for which staff are scheduled. Of these, 686 were in use on Thursday. There are corona patients in 24 of those beds.
If necessary, scaling up to 1,700 IC beds is possible. IC departments cannot handle more, said the minister. There is then insufficient staff available per patient. Regular care will also come under pressure.
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