Second Wave could last till March, citizens don't feel like "co-owners of the problem" says RIVM leader

The rate of daily new coronavirus infections has not been declining fast enough. This was announced by Jaap van Dissel and Jacco Wallinga, two experts from the public health agency RIVM.

They initially hoped that Covid-19 numbers would drop to the last summer’s rates in January, but the situation looks gloomier now. At this rate, it could take until March for the second wave to pass, they explained in an interview with the NOS. 

Van Dissel thinks that the slow decline is partly due to the fact that fewer people are working from home now. “Ultimately, all this translates into the number of contacts that people have with others, that partially determines how many infections there are. You get the feeling that as soon there is good news, people’s sense of urgency declines.” 

In the interview, van Dissel and Wallinga claimed that there aren’t many more measures that the government can implement. Citizens should feel more like “co-owners of the problem of the spread of the virus,” according to them. 

Most infections are currently detected among 15 to 20-year-olds, but the RIVM is not in favor of closing middle schools. “Schools are mentioned as a possible location for 8.5 percent of the transmissions. But to be clear: that is still half of what takes place at work or via home visits,” says Van Dissel, who also points to the crucial function that schools have. “We should prefer that to other measures.”