We're getting our "new life" back, ICU expert says about lockdown ending

With more and more people getting vaccinated against Covid-19 and hospitalization numbers falling, Netherlands residents can really look forward to "go live again", Diederik Gommers, head of the Dutch intensive care association NVIC, said on RTL Nieuws talk show Humberto.

"It's unbelievable. We had a [coronavirus wave] peak a month ago, now the number of ICU admissions has fallen by 60 percent," Gommers said. Vaccination is also really moving forwards. Gommers expects everyone will be vaccinated by the end of the summer. "Then we get our 'new life' back," he said.

"Of course we knew this was coming, but when you actually see it happening, it really makes me very excited," the intensive care expert said. "If we succeed in achieving a vaccination rate of 75 percent in the Netherlands, the reproduction number will remain below one." This means that each person with a coronavirus infection, will pass it along to less than one person. This will keep the Netherlands protected against a new outbreak in the autumn and winter, according to Gommers.

"The only tricky thing about our behavior is: if we get a finger, we grab the whole hand. We pretend it is all over," he said, stressing that it is therefore important to keep following the basic rules of social distancing and regular hand washing. "We all did this by working together. It is a weight off my hear that the virus is going away and we can do normal things again."