NL residents more confident in future as coronavirus measures ease

Now that the Netherlands started to ease out of its coronavirus lockdown, its residents' confidence in the future is also starting to increase, according to a long-term survey by consultancy agency Citisens. Fewer Dutch residents are also struggling to adhere to the rules in place to curb the spread of the virus, BNR reports.

"64 percent think that the corona crisis will have an effect on daily life in a year's time. A third feel more confident about the future now that there are relaxations, but 76 percent are really concerned about the economy," Harmen van Doorn of Citisens summarized the agency's findings for BNR.

The government timed the relaxation of measures well, Van Doorn said. "Three quarters of people think the government did not wait too long. Half of the people still found it difficult to comply with the measures three weeks ago, that is now only 20 percent, so people can really catch a breath again."

On the downside, support for the coronavirus measures dropped from 80 percent three weeks ago to 70 percent this week. 40 percent do not feel confident about the future and the consequences of the economic crisis. The concerns Dutch people have about their own jobs are also unabated.