Mayors urge for same closing time for everyone as Covid press conferences approaches

Prime Minister Mark Rutte and coronavirus Minister Ernst Kuipers will announce the relaxation of some coronavirus measures in a press conference on Tuesday evening. The cultural sector can reopen under certain conditions, as can restaurants and bars. Events will be possible again under strict conditions. The mayors on the Security Council urged the Cabinet to set the same closing time for all sectors. "Use one time. That makes communication clear and easier," said chairman Hubert Bruls, mayor of Nijmegen.

The Cabinet will make the final decision on relaxing measures on Tuesday, but Rutte already said last week that he was optimistic about the room to loosen restrictions.

For the first time, the Cabinet also published the advice of the Outbreak Management Team (OMT). The OMT only wanted businesses to remain open until 8:00 p.m., but it looks like the Cabinet opted for a closing time of 10:00 p.m. The OMT also advised allowing spectators at sports matches.

The mayors in the Security Council advised the government to stick to one closing time. Because one time is easiest to enforce, the mayors concluded. Bruls did not say what closing time the mayors would suggest. The longer you stay open, the greater the chance of infection, he said after the Security Council meeting with Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz in Utrecht on Monday evening. "We have to accept that more people are going to get sick."

That is also happening in neighboring countries where most restrictions have been scrapped. There is also greater pressure on the healthcare sector. Nevertheless, according to Minister Yeşilgöz, the Netherlands cannot be compared one-on-one with other countries because other regulations like the 2G coronavirus access policy apply there. That is why the 25 security regions recommend coordinating the policy with the surrounding countries. "It is good to align the measures with neighboring countries," said Bruls.

The OMT also said that children up to the age of 12 no longer have to quarantine if they don't have Covid-19 symptoms. They are advised to do a daily self-test if they had contact with someone who had the virus. If that is not possible, the GGD or doctor may still recommend quarantine.

The rules around quarantine are in the spotlight because the number of Covid-19 infections is rising so rapidly. If too many people have to stay at home due to an infection or close contact with someone infected, sectors risk getting into trouble. Employers' organizations VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland asked the Cabinet to relax the rules for workers, warning that "half of the Netherlands will soon be sitting don't he couch without complaints."

The high number of infections is also causing problems in the test line. The GGDs have reached the limit of their testing capacity, the umbrella organization said on Monday.