D66 leader wants to lift curfew quickly as summer approaches

D66 leader and departing Minister Sigrid Kaag wants to lift the coronavirus curfew "very quickly". With summer coming and daylight savings starting next week Sunday, it's becoming increasingly difficult to adhere to it, especially for young people, she said after the Council of Ministers on Friday, NOS reports.

The departing cabinet will be discussing the pandemic and the measures in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus over the coming days, including at Prime Minister Mark Rutte's residence in The Hague on Sunday. A press conference will be held on Tuesday.

When entering and leaving the Council of Ministers on Friday, many of the involved Ministers said that no decisions have been made yet. But Kaag added that many Netherlands residents are struggling to keep going in the current lockdown. She said that the D66 has long advocated for a "broadening of the approach" to the coronavirus pandemic.

Kaag pointed out that the D66 won big in Wednesday's parliamentary election and she believes that this should also be "translated" into the coronavirus policy.

Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security was much less positive. He said that the number of daily coronavirus infections has now risen to around 7,500. "I'm not in a relaxed mood about this: let's see what can happen. We really have to be very careful," he said.