News item | 01-04-2022 | 16:15
The cabinet has sent the long-term strategy COVID-19 to the House of Representatives. An open society and being prepared for various contamination scenarios are the starting point for this. The strategy focuses on two equal goals: 1) social and economic continuity and vitality and 2) accessibility of the entire healthcare chain for everyone.
Key points approach
On the one hand, the corona policy is aimed at preventing social and economic damage to companies and individuals, and promoting and supporting mental health and well-being. On the other hand, keeping care accessible to everyone, including all hospital and nursing care, and attention to lifestyle and prevention are part of the policy.
In the event of a revival of the virus, various actions are required at different levels, based on a shared responsibility: society as a whole contributes together to the elaboration and implementation of the strategy. We focus primarily on prevention in order to prevent as much as possible from being faced with difficult choices and dilemmas, as has happened in the past two years.
These are the key points of the strategy:
A. Virus in the picture
The coronavirus is not gone, that’s why we keep a close eye on developments around the virus. For example, through research into sewage water, through modeling and through international cooperation.
B. Society-wide prevention
By everyone: residents of the Netherlands, sectors and the government
Society as a whole plays an important role here. By sticking to the basic advice, we protect ourselves and people with vulnerable health and society can remain open. Self-testing is encouraged and it is important that we adhere to the self-care advice, which states what to do if you test positive.
Good health reduces the risk of serious illness from corona. That is why we encourage sport, exercise and healthy living. And we also focus on mental health. We will retain the benefits of working from home and will continue to work in a hybrid manner.
By the government
The cabinet is preparing for possible new rounds of vaccinations, so that we can start quickly if the situation calls for it. The cabinet is also committed to ensuring the availability of (new) medication.
C. Optimization of the healthcare chain
In the event of a new revival of the virus, we want regular hospital care to continue as much as possible and we want to prevent long-term care, such as nursing care, from being overloaded. To achieve this, we are working on two initiatives. By optimizing the broad care chain, it is possible to respond flexibly to changes in the demand for care, for example by providing patients with oxygen at home, so that fewer people end up in hospital. The optimization of the availability of healthcare professionals aims to quickly increase the availability of healthcare personnel, if necessary.
D. Predictability of decision making and possible interventions
If the virus revives strongly, it cannot be ruled out that measures will have to be taken to keep society open and care accessible. In order to prepare ourselves as well as possible, the government wants to determine together with sectors what works best to limit the damage of possible measures and to prevent sectors from closing. This joint approach also helps to achieve more predictability, customization and peace of mind in decision-making.
open society
The starting point is an open society: the Netherlands is open and we want to keep it that way. That is why we are preparing for different scenarios so that we are not caught by the virus. We want to prevent that with a sharply increasing number of infections, choices have to be made between keeping society open and keeping healthcare accessible. Even if those choices have to be made, this strategy clearly shows what the government can and does. And what we expect from society.
Here are the four scenarios being worked on:
- Cold Scenario: there are mild complaints and this does not put great pressure on the care.
- Flu+ scenario: There is a more severe flu-like course. This can lead to a heavy burden on healthcare, especially if this coincides with a flu season.
- Continuous battle scenario: due to a new, more contagious variant, an uncertain or more serious disease course or declining immunity, there is a high risk of overloading the care.
- Worst case scenario: there is a (very) high rate of morbidity and mortality, for example due to the emergence of a new variant, against which there is only limited protection.
Next steps
In the coming weeks, work will be done on sector plans with the various parties involved. The results of these plans will be discussed in a subsequent letter to parliament about the long-term approach to COVID-19. This letter also explains which steps must be taken to optimize capacity and control in healthcare. The letter is expected to be sent to the House of Representatives in June. In this we also provide information about the establishment of a Social Impact Team (MIT). The government is considering setting up an MIT to assist the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) in advising the government. This could contribute to making a good balance between the epidemiological and social impact of measures.
Testing for complaints
The responsibility for testing in the event of complaints will also lie more with the people themselves. From April 11, after a positive self-test, you no longer need to take a confirmation test at the GGD. The self-test is a reliable and fast tool and is already widely used. Self-care advice will also be available to help people if they or someone close to them gets a positive test result. For the time being, it remains possible to test at the GGD for a proof of recovery, for example, this may be necessary for travel. The GGD test also remains available for vulnerable people and people who cannot use a self-test.
Cabinet response to OVV report to the House of Representatives
In a letter to the House, the government also responded to the conclusions and recommendations of the Dutch Safety Board (OvV). The cabinet embraces the conclusions and recommendations of the Public Prosecution Service and draws the necessary lessons from them. In the letter, the government indicates how it intends to improve the management, implementation, cooperation, decision-making and communication of the crisis approach. For example, the cabinet is preparing various changes, particularly in the crisis structure and the management of healthcare. The aim is to be better prepared for future crises. But even in the next crisis, new and unexpected problems will arise and appropriate improvisation will be necessary. A number of recommendations have now been incorporated into the long-term strategy.