Gov't to use state of emergency to implement curfew: report

Prime Minister Mark Rutte is planning to activate the state of emergency law so that a curfew can be implemented in regions where the number of coronavirus infections is too high, sources around the cabinet said to BNR.

The Extraordinary Powers of Civil Authority Act dates from 1996 and has never been used before. It gives the government all kind of emergency powers and can restrict existing existing legislation and civil rights. Article 8 of the law makes it possible to impose a curfew.

The law is meant to apply to disaster scenarios, such as wars and dike breaches, according to the broadcaster. It is triggered by the declaration of a "limited state of emergency", and articles therefrom are enacted by royal decree, and therefore do not have to be approved by parliament.

Political reporter Laurens Boven told BNR that it is strange that the government has not officially announced this. According to him, in press conferences Rutte gave the impression that the curfew would be voluntary. Asking someone to stay home really is different than forcing them to, he said.