Netherlands well-prepared for second Covid wave: Health Min.

The healthcare sector in the Netherlands currently has enough personal protective equipment available in stock to protect healthcare workers against the coronavirus, Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health said in a letter to parliament ahead of a debate on the coronavirus policy.

According to De Jonge, the National Consortium for Medical Supplies, which is in charge of central purchasing, believes that there will be enough supplies even if the coronavirus peaks again.

The Consortium ordered over a billion surgical masks. Of these, 700 million are currently in stock in the Netherlands, of which 535 million are immediately available to healthcare institutions. The Consortium also ordered 695 million pairs of gloves. 289 million are in stock in the country, of which 175 million are immediately available.

In addition to the protective gear, the Netherlands also has 2 thousand ampoules of virus inhibitor Remdesivir in stock, De Jonge wrote. The anti-inflammatory Dexamethasone is also "widely available" for Dutch patients. The use of this anti-inflammatory is now also part of the Covid-19 treatment guideline, he said.

The Health Minister also said that a coronavirus vaccine will be available in the first months of 2021 at the earliest, if clinical trials go according to plan.