Relaxed measures seem able to control coronavirus spread, second wave less likely: report

Three weeks after the Netherlands allowed restaurants, cinemas and cultural institutions to partially reopen, the number of new coronavirus infections and hospitalizations remain low. The relaxed measures seem to be still controlling the spread of the virus, making a second wave of infections less likely than expected, RIVM model maker Jacco Wallinga said to newspaper AD. Teachers' unions are still worried about the lack of insight into coronavirus cases at schools, according to the newspaper.

"All in all, there seems to be limited transmission of the virus at the moment," Wallinga said. "With how we are currently setting up the monitoring, and with good source and contact tracing, the emergence of local clusters seems the most realistic. However, you cannot completely rule out a second wave."

According to Wallinga, a big risk now is that people will feel safe and start to ignore things like social distancing. "The virus has not left the country, there can still be outbreaks. As long as there are still people with Covid-19 in the Netherlands, letting go of these basic rules will irrevocably lead to a rapid increase in the number of infected persons. It is still necessary to keep your distance."

Despite the low number of infections, teachers' unions are concerned that the health authorities are not keeping a close eye on coronavirus infections in schools.

Questions asked by AD showed that the GGD, the RIVM, and the Ministry of Education do not have figures on how many primary schools had coronavirus infections. Some GDDs could say exactly which schools had infections since reopening, but others could not provide that information, according to the newspaper. The RIVM only counts the number of teachers that tested positive, the Ministry is only notified of "major outbreaks".

"We may know how many infections there are among teachers, but we have no idea of how many primary schools have had corona cases," Eugenie Stolk of education union AOb said to the newspaper. "It seems logical to me to look at that, because you want to know whether a school is a source."