This is the most important corona news of Wednesday 16 February.
06:49 am – First day without a positive corona test at the Olympics
The Beijing Olympics have had a day without positive corona tests for the first time. The nearly 69,000 tests conducted on Wednesday yielded only negative results. In the days before, a few still tested positive. Seven participants of the Games arrived at Beijing airport on Wednesday. They all tested negative. In the closed ‘super bubble’ that the Chinese have created, this also applied to all participants, who undergo a daily corona test.
06.10 am – Aruba cancels all corona measures
Aruba is today withdrawing all corona measures, Prime Minister Evelyn Wever-Croes announced. The only rule that remains in force is that people who want to enter Aruba must take a corona test. But that does not apply to travelers who have already had two vaccinations and a booster shot.
5 a.m. – Sickness absence in January increased even further due to corona
Absenteeism due to illness in the Netherlands rose even further in January compared to the previous month. This is due to the large numbers of corona infections. For the first time since the start of the pandemic, more than half of the number of absenteeism reports was caused by corona, health and safety services ArboNed and HumanCapitalCare report.
The dropout rate remains highest in healthcare (7 percent) and manufacturing (5.8 percent). Absenteeism in these sectors is relatively much higher than the Dutch average of 5 percent in January. That was an adjusted 4.8 percent a month earlier. In the financial and business services sector, the number of sick calls rose the least in January, because the possibilities of working from home in these professions are much greater.
2:35 a.m. – ‘Wedding explosion’ expected as society reopens
With relaxation on the way, large-scale events (without all kinds of restrictions) seem to be possible again. The number of weddings in particular will explode, according to De Telegraaf. Inquiries with large municipalities indicate that they are seeing a significant increase in the number of planned marriages, which usually have to be reported to the municipality six weeks in advance.