If the carnival and winter sports wave do not lead to an increase in corona patients, the signals will be green for the release of the last restrictions. The OMT will meet at the end of this week, after which the cabinet will decide. ‘Letting go of everything at once is not said’.
After weeks of decline the number of infections has risen again in recent days, to more than 53,000 daily on average. The February easing, carnival and winter sports act as suspected drivers, but the situation in hospitals is stable, with a total of 1,368 patients admitted (of which 157 in IC).
If that remains the case in the coming week, all signals for relaxation will be green, reports a source from The Hague. “But it’s not a run, it’s not said that everything will be let go at once.”
For example, face masks in public transport and at stations could remain mandatory for a little longer, to protect the elderly and vulnerable against infection. “That will be discussed further.” Tomorrow, the most involved ministers will be updated by OMT chairman Jaap van Dissel about the current state of affairs, the consequences of relaxation and the situation in hospitals.
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‘Old normal’
Since February 25, only a limited number of corona rules and advice have been applied: mouth masks are mandatory in public transport and at stations, working from home is half the time and an entrance test is mandatory at indoor events of five hundred visitors or more, such as concerts and large parties. in night catering.
The Outbreak Management Team (OMT) will meet on Friday for advice on the relaxations, and the cabinet will decide on the following Tuesday. Minister Ernst Kuipers of Public Health (D66) will not hold a press conference at 7 p.m., as it is the evening before the municipal elections. He will probably give a short explanation to the media that afternoon.
For example, the Netherlands is heading for a spring and summer according to the ‘old normal’, without a corona ticket, distance obligation or mouth caps. But those involved point out that the corona pandemic is not over yet.
Autumn
At the Binnenhof and within the OMT, the revival of the virus in the autumn is taken into account, possibly with the arrival of a new variant. OMT member and virologist Marion Koopmans emphasizes that the pandemic is in a ‘transition phase’. “You don’t know what autumn will bring. So you will have to take various scenarios into account.”
It is unclear whether it will be decided next week to scale down corona as an A disease and any adjustments to the (expensive and time-consuming) PCR test policy.
The cabinet is still working on a plan to increase ‘pandemic preparedness’, with flexible hospital capacity and more shock-resistant care. Kuipers previously changed the main goals of the corona policy: exclusion of risks is passé, the starting point will be keeping society open.
The minister will also introduce an ‘interim law’ that should replace the temporary corona law. The current law offers the cabinet the opportunity to take all kinds of draconian measures, but politicians want to get rid of them now that the mild omikron variant is dominant. Keeping such severe freedom-restricting measures in ‘the toolbox’ is then not justified, the parties argue.
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