MPs criticize lack of self-reflection from Rutte and De Jonge
Several MPs angrily took to Twitter to call out the lack of self-reflection from Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Hugo de Jonge during their coronavirus policy press conference on Friday. The government announced additional coronavirus restrictions due to rising coronavirus infection numbers just two weeks after nearly completely reopening the country. The MPs believed that the ministers assigned blame to everyone but themselves for the sharp increase in infection numbers, without being critical of their own policies.
“Young people are blamed for everything, but it was the Cabinet itself that spread the message that EVERYTHING is possible again”, GroenLinks MP, Lisa Westerveld wrote. According to Westerveld, the Cabinet ignored criticism from the opposition. “And now it is the fault of others again.”
According to SP member Peter Kwint, it is “everything and everyone’s fault but a little self-reflection is too much to ask from the Cabinet.”
“That seems wonderful to me. Everyone is always to blame but never yourself”, PvdA MP Attje Kuiken sneered on Twitter.
Nightclubs were allowed to abandon the 1.5-meter distance rule for a short while, provided visitors had proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test, although entry testing did not always go as planned. The access testing system was overwhelmed, with some getting negative test results when they never took a test, while some others are believed to have used falsified test results. Even still, in many bars and clubs bouncers were called out for not closely screening test results.
The result of releasing coronavirus restrictions at the same time as the highly contagious Delta variant began its advance is that the average number of daily infections has gone up to five times where it was on June 30, with nearly seven thousand new infections reported on Friday. Last week, the vast majority of infections were reported in people under 30, many of whom were declared “fully vaccinated” by the government’s CoronaCheck app immediately after getting their final vaccine jab.
In reality, the vaccines need 14 days before a person can be truly considered fully protected against Covid-19 symptoms, with a reduced likelihood of spreading the viral infection.
Rutte said during the press conference that the worsening coronavirus situation was not the fault of young people. “Many of them follow the rules very well. But not everyone adheres to them.”
De Jonge maintained it was “logical and responsible” to let go of almost all corona measures at the end of June. The number of people infected with coronavirus was falling while people were vaccinated “rapidly”. Rutte also pointed to the spread of the delta variant as a reason to tighten restrictions again. In Great Britain, the number of infections due to the Delta variant rose sharply in June. According to De Jonge, the spread of the virus mutation in the Netherlands was calculated but the increase is “really unprecedented”.
The Netherlands is currently in danger of regressing to the serious “red”, or most serious “dark red” risk level on the European Centre for Disease and Prevention’s coronavirus map on which travel advice is based. This means that Dutch travelers may have to quarantine upon arrival in another country.
