Government to reassess use of Covid access passes in 5 weeks

The Cabinet will examine the effectiveness of the coronavirus access pass five weeks' time. Then it will be decided whether the access passes will be scrapped or whether they'll be in use for longer, caretaker Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said before meeting with some Minsters about the coronavirus policy, NOS reports.

Saturday was the first day that the coronavirus access pass was mandatory for access to the catering industry, the art and culture sector, and events. In exchange, a number of other coronavirus restrictions were relaxed, including social distancing.

In the meantime, the Cabinet's experts will examine the effect of scrapping the social distancing measure in combination with the use of coronavirus access passes. "We must first see what happens. If [infections] increase, we may have to broaden something," De Jonge said, referring to additional coronavirus measures. "If things go the right direction, we can scale down."

The Cabinet will again look at the measures early in November. "So we'll have to hold on for a while," De Jonge said.