Busy day expected as restaurants reopen at noon

With sunny and warm weather forecast for the Netherlands today, and catering establishments being allowed to open their doors for the first time since mid-March, the day is expected to be busy throughout the country. But the mayors in the Security Council, comprised of the 25 security regions in the Netherlands, are confident that Netherlands residents will adhere to social distancing rules in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

"Over the past weeks we have shown together that we handle the relaxation [of coronavirus measures] wisely. My compliments to society for this," Hubert Bruls, mayor of Nijmegen and chairman of the Security Council, said to news wire ANP. "I am therefore looking forward to this new phase with great confidence."

Bruls previously said that the municipalities will not deploy extra enforcement to monitor social distancing on terraces and in restaurants and bars. The responsibility to maintain social distancing will lie firstly with the catering establishment and its customers, he said. The mayors will only intervene if public order is at stake.

"The opening of the catering industry, for example, is a great challenge for which we are all responsible," Bruls said to ANP on Sunday. "I call on everyone to take each other into account and adhere to the basic rules that still apply, such as washing hands, keeping 1.5 meters apart, avoiding crowds, and staying home with symptoms. This is how we keep the coronavirus under control."

Terrace owners could not have asked for better weather for the first day of their reopening, according to Weeronline. The sun will shine abundantly and thermometers will climb above 20 degrees almost everywhere in the Netherlands. Maximums will range between 20 and 28 degrees Celsius.