Rotterdam could put new Covid restrictions in place as infections rise

Municipalities, the safety region and health service GGD in the Rotterdam-Rijnmond region are consulting on possible measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the region. The number of new Covid-19 infections in the region has increased sharply over the past days, with 64 new cases identified on Sunday, a spokesperson for Veiligheidsregio Rotterdam-Rijnmond confirmed to Rijnmond.

4.8 people per 100 thousand inhabitants in the Rotterdam-Rijnmond region have tested positive for the coronavirus. This makes the region the largest source of contamination, NOS reports based on regional comparisons.

"We are now looking into possibilities within the existing emergency regulations to stop the spread of corona," the safety region spokesperson said to Rijnmond.

Last week Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security called the new spike of SARS-CoV-2 cases in the Netherlands concerning, but said that the government would not take any new measures for the time being, such as the call to wear masks in public spaces from mayors Ahmed Aboutaleb of Rotterdam and Femke Halsema of Amsterdam.

As the national government won't take new measures to prevent another major outbreak, the region is looking into what it can do itself, according to Rijmond. "One of the things we are going to focus on in public space is to point out to people even more intensively what is safe and what not," the Veiligheidsregio spokesperson said.