“The Netherlands missed you,” Prime Minister Rutte said festively this week during a significant downgrading of the measures against the Omikron variant of Covid-19. The firm lockdown is being released and replaced by longer closing times. Which also go further than the scientific advisors recommended.
This is therefore a more ‘political’ decision than previous attempts to contain the pandemic. They seemed almost dictated by the Outbreak Management Team. A broader social consideration was shown here. The Netherlands seemed ready for that too – so that’s a win. Governing by Catshuis decree and press conference, with retrospective control by the House, may now gradually come to an end.
With this decision, the cabinet is taking a substantial risk, Minister Kuipers (D66, public health) made clear. The number of infections is now many times higher than ever measured before. And it will inevitably rise further. The fact that it would be responsible to relax nevertheless is based on two assumptions. The first is that the hospitals can accommodate it. The Omikron variant apparently leads to less serious problems and therefore to fewer IC admissions. The second is that the measures are no longer proportional. Think of the consequences for the health of young people in particular. But also to the well-being of citizens who can no longer cope with the restrictions. The decision is also a clear response to the cries for help from the business community, in particular the entertainment sector, the culture and music world.
The Netherlands is now joining the European environment where a lockdown has been avoided by ‘boosting’ earlier, using masks more consistently and a higher IC capacity. There, Omikron has also been valued as less disruptive. The perspective now is Covid as an endemic disease – a virus that is constantly present. The damage then takes on a different face. More in social, personal and economic life, less in health care.
With this prospect, the government is stepping back and placing a lot of responsibility on the citizen. For vulnerable citizens, relaxation is not yet an option. They will continue their isolation. In order not to derail the infections, everyone must continue to take preventive measures, is the assignment. That must happen. Keeping distance, wearing mouth caps, testing, hand hygiene, vaccinating, boosting. If things do go wrong again, the prime minister does not want to hear any yo-yo policy criticism. So this is a parole.
Citizens must now show what they can do, without generic coercive measures. This may be sobering after the initial run on the restaurants, but ‘normal times’ have not arrived yet. This situation calls for self-discipline, for socially hygienic behaviour, for empathy and behavioral adjustment for the vulnerable. The government can support this by lowering the threshold for testing. By handing out face masks, promoting a ‘Covid-safe lifestyle’, making self-tests generously available. And by clearly explaining to citizens the consequences of their behavioral choices. In two years of the pandemic, enforcement was more often than not effective – and was actually only used in case of excesses. So the stick didn’t do much. But don’t leave the carrot unused. Living with Covid as an endemic virus is not just learned. The government could now focus on that.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC on the morning of January 27, 2022