Gov't advised to extend Christmas school holidays, not relax other measures

The Outbreak Management Team advised the government to look into whether the school holidays over Christmas can be extended by a week. As Covid-19 infections are still high, no further relaxation of measures is advised, sources told NOS and RTL Nieuws.

According to the OMT, it is possible that the autumn holidays contributed to a drop in coronavirus infections. The closure of schools has already been mentioned as a measure to further reduce the current number of infections, but the government considers this a last resort. An extra week of holiday for all school kids could be an interim solution.

Over the past days, the number of coronavirus infections remained at a high level and there is still a lot of pressure on the healthcare system. The OMT therefore advised against a further relaxation of the coronavirus measures for the time being. 

The current plan is for Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Hugo de Jonge to hold a press conference on December 8. The OMT will give the government updated advice on how to proceed before then, RTL's sources said.