Vast majority of NL residents want face mask rule scrapped

The vast majority, 72 percent, of Netherlands residents want the government to scrap the face mask rule sooner, Hart van Nederland found in a survey of over 3,500 people. Members of the Outbreak Management Team advocated for this very thing on Tuesday.

Netherlands residents are more willing to keep adhering to social distancing and the call to work from home if possible. Only 11 percent want to get rid of the 1.5 meter apart rule faster than planned, and 10 percent want to return to the office as soon as possible. Only 32 percent are willing to keep wearing a face mask if it meant no social distancing and no work from home.

Despite the eagerness to get rid of them, people in the Netherlands still generally adhere to the face mask rule. 73 percent said they still wear a mask when they have to. 19 percent don't always wear a mask, and only 7 percent never wear a mask. 

Prime Minister Mark Rutte told Hart van Nederland that the cabinet "wants to get rid of everything as quickly as possible", including the obligation to wear face masks.