D66 minister Ernst Kuipers (Public Health) thereby breaks the tradition of his predecessor Hugo de Jonge (CDA) of only providing the House with the information afterwards. As a result, the cabinet had an information advantage during press conferences and journalists – who also did not have the OMT advice during the press conferences – were lagging behind.
‘New management culture’
Member of Parliament Lisa Westerveld (GL) raised the alarm with fellow MPs about this on Sunday. She requested that the advice be sent to the House ‘immediately’. The PVV, SP, PvdA, JA21, Groep van Haga, Pieter Omtzigt, BBB and faction Den Haan supported this proposal, which is also seen by some as part of the ‘new administrative culture’ that should appear in The Hague.
VVD, D66 and CDA also supported the request, but first wanted to ‘check whether there is actually an OMT recommendation and when it is planned to send it to the House’, the decision published on Monday states. The OMT advice states, among other things, that children up to the age of 12 no longer need to be quarantined if they have no complaints. The experts also no longer have to go home if there are more than three infections. In the event of an outbreak, all students are advised to test themselves daily. This applies to both primary and secondary education, even if students are 18 years or older.
There will be a new press conference on Tuesday evening in which Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Kuipers will announce relaxations, according to sources.