Bruls responds to plans by the night catering industry to open their doors after 10 p.m. this weekend, while the catering industry must be closed at 10 p.m. according to the corona measures in force. At the same time, police unions have announced actions such as failing to act against violators who are open late. “We assume that action will be taken against large-scale violations of rules,” says Bruls. “The police continue to have a special responsibility for maintaining public order.”
The municipalities of Groningen and Maastricht are going into the weekend with that intention. A spokesperson from the north says that “the starting point is enforcement”, because Groningen wants to follow the law. The same sound is heard from the south, with the addition that the exact implementation depends on “further developments”, referring to possible further relaxation and actions by the police. Maastricht “always maintains the corona measures, and if the situation changes, we will act according to the circumstances,” said a municipal spokesperson. The municipality of Haarlem will also enforce, a spokesperson said.
When the regular catering industry opened its doors as an action, mayors reacted differently. Some turned a blind eye to that, while others didn’t. After that, it was agreed in the Security Council to draw one line: at the reopening action Kapsalon Theater that was not allowed anywhere and theaters had to close again. This will now also apply to night catering, despite the fact that relaxations seem to be coming.
The Security Council of the 25 mayors who chair a security region believes that there are good reasons for opening up society further. “Keeping it closed any longer is no longer proportional,” according to the council. But the current rules will apply until the cabinet’s press conference on Tuesday.