The reopening of the schools on Monday coincides with the last hours of Hugo de Jonge at the helm in the corona crisis. He starts the day as a minister, in the course of the morning Ernst Kuipers takes over.
A changing of the guard always offers opportunities to change course. That comes in handy in this case. After almost two years in which periods of over-relaxation alternated with periods of great panic, the country is yearning for a more predictable, less volatile corona policy. That we have to ‘live with the virus’ has often been preached by De Jonge, but has hardly been put into practice. The country was raided again and again and too often the cabinet was busy fighting the last war.
This also applies to the current lockdown. For once, the cabinet did not want to be the last in Europe to respond to the emergence of a new virus variant. That in itself was refreshing, but three weeks later the result is that the Netherlands is the only one in Europe still in an almost total lockdown, with all the social, emotional and economic consequences that entails. Not because there are fewer infections in neighboring countries, but because they are trying without the blunt ax this time.
Growing resistance not surprising
No wonder that resistance is growing here, even among people who are not in the least opposed to vaccination or serious handling of the virus. When are we going to really try to live with it? For example, a more coercive testing policy and boosting teachers and young people earlier could have made the reopening of schools less exciting. Why do three quarters of schools still have inadequate ventilation? Would it really be impossible to shop safely without getting too crowded between the clothes racks? Can someone explain that the closure of museums and cinemas prevents many infections? Do the restrictions on sports, especially outdoors, make a significant contribution to public health?
Certainly now that the character of omikron is becoming more and more apparent, a review of the exchange rate is desirable. Yes, more people are infected, but the symptoms of the disease are really not that bad. The risk of overloaded intensive care units is falling sharply.
This can no longer remain without consequences for policy. Ernst Kuipers can immediately make the difference in his first weeks.
The position of the newspaper is expressed in the Volkskrant Commentaar. It is created after a discussion between the commentators and the editor-in-chief.