Gov't won't scrap basic Covid measures on Sept. 20: report

The government will not be scrapping the basic anti-coronavirus measures, like social distancing, on September 20th as previously planned, sources around the cabinet told the Telegraaf and confirmed to NOS. Face masks on public transport and the advice to work from home will also stick around for a while longer.

If the Covid-19 infection figures allow it, these relaxations will only be implemented on September 25 at the earliest. The reason for the five-day delay is that the law that regulates the coronavirus measures must be amended to drop the 1.5 meters apart rule. There's not enough time to do that by September 20.

Dropping the face masks on public transport rule and the advice to work from home does not require a legislative amendment. So in principle, they can be scrapped on September 20. But it seems more likely that the cabinet will implement all these relaxations at once.

During a press conference three weeks ago, the caretaker cabinet promised more relaxation of the coronavirus measures on September 20, provided the infection figures allow it. At the same press conference, November 1 was mentioned as the possible date to lift all restrictions.