11 april 2021
19:17
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The Dutch government is gathering today to initiate a series of relaxation. It is possible that terraces can reopen and curfews come to an end.
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Just like in Belgium, there is a lot of discussion in the Netherlands about possible relaxation, now that the population is more than tired of the corona measures. The Dutch government wants to come up with a plan on Tuesday that should show the way to the realm of freedom.
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Prime Minister Mark Rutte will consult with his fellow ministers on Sunday and Monday about possible relaxation. The piste was on the table to reopen the terraces from 21 April and to lift the controversial curfew. ‘Provided that the figures allow it’, it said before the start of the consultation.
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But on Sunday evening it became known that the relaxations will still be in the fridge for a while. “April 21 will come too early,” said a spokesman for the Government Information Service.
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Higher education
An adjustment of the lockdown has been postponed to April 28. In addition to the opening of terraces and the lifting of the curfew, consideration is being given to the partial opening of higher education and the further opening of shops.
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April 21 comes too early for a relaxation of the lockdown. It will be postponed by a week.
Spokesman for the Government Information Service
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The spokesperson for the Government Information Service said that ‘it will only be relaxed when the peak of the third wave has passed’. In the Netherlands, almost 800 corona patients are currently in intensive care.
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That is less than in Belgium, where there are more than 900 patients who need intensive care because of corona. But hospitals in the Netherlands are also forced to postpone regular care, so that all attention can be focused on corona patients. For example, heart and cancer operations are postponed.
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The Netherlands is not the first country to consider relaxation. In our country it is still the intention to reopen the catering industry on 1 May. But Corona Commissioner Pedro Facon suggested in one interview with De Tijd to move that date to mid-May.
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In Luxembourg the government chose to reopen the terraces already. This was done under very strict conditions.
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