MPs call it incomprehensible that all shops in the Netherlands are closed, but you can still shop behind customs at Schiphol. Rutte says in answer to questions that he shares that feeling of MPs. He therefore has an emergency arrangement made, after which it becomes possible to close non-essential cases. “That also leads to fewer staff at the airport,” said Rutte.
Rutte also appealed to the Dutch not to cross the border of our neighboring countries if this is not necessary. “Don’t go shopping in Cologne or eating out in Antwerp,” said Rutte. The Prime Minister acknowledged in the debate that the delivery of booster vaccines had started much too late. Although the daily number of corona infections is currently falling, there are major concerns within the cabinet and RIVM about the rapid advance of the omicron variant. These are not only causing headaches in the Netherlands, but also in other European countries. The German equivalent of RIVM, the Robert Koch Institute, among others, advises our eastern neighbors to take tough measures.
Intensive Care Unit
Rutte said that the first calculations by experts show that – if hard interventions such as the lockdown are not taken into account – about 4000 intensive care beds will be needed in January. There are none. By accelerating the use of booster shots, an attempt is made to reduce this pressure on healthcare in the near future. So far, about 2 million shots have been taken. The cabinet wants to have another 9 million extra shots taken before the second half of January 2022.