Mayors call Netherlands residents to stay home on King's Day

The Security Council, which consists of the mayors that head the 25 safety regions in the Netherlands, are calling on Netherlands residents to celebrate King's Day at home. If you do have to go outside, make sure to keep 1.5 meters apart, Nijmegen mayor and Security Council chairman Hubert Bruls said on the Security Council website.

"While there seem to be favorable developments in the spread of the coronavirus, people are still getting sick and people are still dying every day," Bruls said. "The call to stay home also applies to King's Day." He stressed that action will be taken against people gathering in groups.

According to the Security Council, some places in the Netherlands were busier on Sunday than in previous weeks. This did not lead to major incidents, but the government's measures weren't properly observed, Bruls said. Several municipalities, including Tilburg, Den Bosch, Den Helder, and Urk, had to specifically call on their residents to go home.

In Rotterdam, the police had to break up a party on the ground floor of a student apartment building on Rouchssenstraat. Fourteen students were fined 390 euros each for violating the measures in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the Rotterdam police said on Twitter. After a tip about a noisy party, the police surrounded the building and forced the attendees to come outside and take their fines.