Restaurants, shops, sex workers protesting to reopen today

The catering industry, sex workers, and a number of shopkeepers are protesting against the government's coronavirus policy on Tuesday. They feel they are not getting enough support and desperately want to be allowed to reopen as usual.

Catering establishments have been closed since October last year, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus as much as possible. Today, terraces will open in a large number of places at noon, though they won't be serving any food or drinks. "We will show that this can be done responsibly, with sufficient distance," Johan de Vos, bar owner and chairman of the Breda branch of hospitality industry KHN, said to RTL Nieuws.

The idea was initially to serve food and drinks, but the fine of 4 thousand euros for violating the coronavirus rules turned out to be too much for many already struggling businesses. 

A group of sex workers will protest in The Hague on Tuesday with a "peepshow on wheels" on the Hofplaats in The Hague - the square next to parliament. Sex workers are the only contact profession not allowed to open on Wednesday, and many sex workers do not qualify for the government's coronavirus support measures.

"If you say: all contact professions are allowed again except for the sex workers, then you simply show that you have a moralistic point of view," sex worker Moira Mona said to RTL Nieuws. "You do blowjobs with a condom, so there's no virus transmission. You do not have to kiss and you do not have to lick each other's bodies. Moreover, sweat does not transmit the virus."

In Klazienaveen in Drenthe, 140 retailers plan to open their business today. "We are completely done with the destructive policy of the cabinet. In this way there will soon be no clothing store or catering establishment left," the local shopkeepers' association said. 

With the lockdown restrictions the government relaxed last week, non-essential stores will be allowed to reopen for shopping-on-appointment. But they will only be allowed to receive two customers per floor per time slot of at least 10 minutes.