Dutch parliament to question virologist, fmr. Healthcare Min. today in Covid inquiry

The parliamentary inquiry into the coronavirus policy is entering a visible phase today. The committee is starting with its public hearings, beginning with virologist Marion Koopmans this morning and former Medical Care Minister Bruno Bruins, who collapsed from exhaustion in parliament while dealing with the pandemic, this afternoon, NU.nl reports.

The parliamentary committee of inquiry, currently consisting of five parliamentarians, has been scrutinizing the coronavirus measures taken between December 2019 and the spring of 2022 for years. The next step in the process, the public hearings, start today and will end in September. The final report is expected early next year.

The committee wants to question 47 people, under oath, including former Prime Minister Mark Rutte, then Public Health Minister Hugo de Jonge, and Jaap van Dissel, the former head of the Outbreak Management Team. Former Justice Minister Ferd Grappenhuis and poll maker Maurice de Hond are also on the list. As is Mona Keijzer. She was fired as State Secretary during the pandemic for publicly criticizing the coronavirus policy.

Despite the years that have passed since the last coronavirus measures were lifted, the parliamentary committee still considers this inquiry important. “Everyone can remember decisions such as the curfew, the closing of schools, the coronavirus entry pass - all kinds of decisions with a very major impact,” committee chair Daan de Kort (VVD) previously said. “If my daughter ever experiences a pandemic - the question is not if, but when - then our goal is that her generation will be well prepared.”

The investigation focuses primarily on the decision-making by the Cabinet and the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, during the pandemic, weighing the measures against the fundamental rights they affected. The lockdowns, for example, significantly restricted people’s freedom of movement.

The parliamentary inquiry is the most severe tool the Tweede Kamer can use. It is not a criminal investigation, but is mainly intended to draw lessons for the future.

The coronavirus committee consists of De Kort, Songül Mutluer (PRO), Dion Huidekooper (D66), André Poortman (CDA), and Annelotte Lammers (Groep Markuszower).