Gov't to decide next steps in fight against Covid-19 Tuesday

The government will decide next week Tuesday how the Netherlands will proceed in the fight against the coronavirus. The decisions will affect measures in place unit April 6, including working from home and the closure of schools, restaurants and museums. Events that need a permit will be canceled until at least June 1st, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, NOS reports. 

On Tuesday Minister Arie Slob for Primary and Secondary Education hinted that schools will likely be closed longer than April 6. Rutte said that this is not yet a certainty. "It was decided to close the schools until April 6 because there was unrest among parents and teachers. RIVM needs more time for its investigation, but that does not mean that the schools will remain closed until after April 6."

Rutte said he still gets many questions about when you as a family should remain in home quarantine. "Until this past Monday the rule was: if you have cold symptoms, you stay at home. On Monday it was added that if someone in the family is stuffy and has a fever, the whole family stays at home." The only exception to this is if someone in that family works in a vital sector - they still have to go to work, even if someone in their family is sick.

The government launched a campaign on Wednesday, calling on Netherlands residents to work together to get this virus under control. The motto for the campaign is "alleen samen" can we get the coronavirus under control. "Alleen samen" translates to 'only together', but can also mean 'alone together'.