Netherlands can be more experimental with Covid-19 measures, head of ICU network says

The Netherlands could be more experimental with its measures against the spread of the coronavirus, depending on the situation and the number of infections at any given time, Ernst Kuipers of the national network for acute care LNAZ said on talk show Jinek. "If we all want things to open again, you will have to experiment. Then you have to dare to do certain things," he said. "Depending on the time and place."

On Tuesday public health institute RIVM announced that the number of Covid-19 infections in the Netherlands is decreasing again. Last week 3,588 people tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, 425 fewer positive tests than the week before. And that while a record number of people got tested last week.

According to Kuipers, such a decrease in cases could be a reason to take a few more risks. "In March and April, an average of one in 60 people nationwide was infected. Then the chance that you will meet someone at a concert or on the train is very high. In July, one in 6,000 people was infected. Then you can afford to do a little more."

He added that there is a risk in implementing measures in some places and not in others. "You tell people a message that varies in location and time," he said. "People will wonder, for example, why they should wear a mask in one place and not in another."