Spring weather sends NL residents outside; Various parks evacuated
A number of parks throughout the Netherlands were cleared out again on Wednesday afternoon due to crowds and failure to adhere to the coronavirus measures. The nice weather, combined with fatigue of the coronavirus lockdown sent Netherlands residents outside en masse.
Amsterdam closed the entrances of the Vondelpark at around 2:15 p.m. and cleared the park at 6:30 p.m., according to Het Parool. Two people were arrested. A spokesperson for mayor Femke Halsema told AT5 that they decided to clear visitors out of the park because of crowds. "A large group clumped around the monument with drinks and music. A too large group that did not adhere to the corona measures and did not keep a meter and a half apart," the spokesperson said.
After the park was cleared, groups of young people gathered and partied on the Museumplein. The police eventually intervened there too.
People were also asked to leave Park Lepelenburg in Utrecht, RTV Utrecht reports. The park was too crowded and visitors did not maintain social distancing, the municipality said to the broadcaster. The Paardenveld Park, the Wilhelminapark, and the Griftpark were also crowded.
The municipality of Arnhem banned alcohol in the Sonsbeek Park on Wednesday afternoon. "Visitors are ordered to store their drinks in bags and not to use them anymore. Anyone who does not listen is asked to leave the park," a reporter at the scene told Omroep Gelderland.
Police and enforcement officers were also actively enforcing coronavirus measures and an alcohol ban in the Noorderplantsoen in Groningen. "People are kindly requested to adhere to the corona measures. That is not going well," a spokesperson for the municipality said to RTV Noord. "Then we cannot draw any other conclusion than that people should leave."
