Over 200 municipalities giving terraces extra space, once they can reopen

Over of the 352 Dutch municipalities have promised their catering entrepreneurs extra space for their terraces once they can reopen, hospitality association KHN told NU.nl.

"With a terrace twice as large, you can keep your distance with the same number of visitors," KHN chairman Rober Willemsen said to the newspaper. The third of municipalities that have not allowed bigger terraces yet, are still discussing the matter, he said.

After the first lockdown last year, catering establishments were allowed to reopen their terraces on June 1. KHN expects that it will again be terraces that open first once the current lockdown is eased. Bigger terraces mean more customers for struggling businesses.

Early this month, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he hoped that cafe terraces could be allowed to reopen at the end of this month. But with coronavirus infections rising again, sources close to the cabinet told Dutch media that the government will likely abandon plans to loosen up lockdown restrictions before the Easter holidays.