Coronavirus measures to be more strictly enforced, private parties still a challenge

The government gave the security regions more powers to implement and enforce measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Hubert Bruls, chairman of the Security Council, thinks this is a good strategy. Mayors and security regions will enforce existing coronavirus measures more strictly. But he is still worried about the spread of the virus in private situations, NOS reports.

"The new measures provide excellent tools for mayors and enforces to take stricter action," Bruls said. He heads the Security Council, which represents the 25 security regions in the country. Bruls still sees some challenges ahead. "Such as private situations: we cannot just enter a party. That is very difficult to intervene in and in view of the relatively many infections that occur in the private sphere, we are worried about that. We have to rely much more on communication."

The mayors of Noord-Brabant see no reason to implement extra measures against the spread of the coronavirus at this stage, but the local security regions will "tighten up" enforcement of the existing rules, the mayors in the province said in a joint statement.

The mayors of Eindhoven, Den Bosch, Tilburg and Breda, who head the local security regions, will give heed to the government's call to intensify their monitoring of compliance to social distancing measures in crowded places, they said, according to RTL Nieuws. "The time for warnings is really over," they wrote.

They will also consult with education institutions and student associations in the province about their plans for freshman orientation week, and how best to make sure everyone is safe.

Mayor Paul Depla of Breda told Nieuwsuur that it is good that local authorities are given more power to deal with the coronavirus crisis. "The situation is different in Breda than in Groningen," he said. "What is good is that the cabinet is offering the chairs of the security regions a toolbox with which they can respond to a local situation themselves."

He himself is considering measures with which Breda can refuse or send back people who come from coronavirus hotspots, like Antwerp. "I hope this will be considered in the short term. In Antwerp code orange applies, but at the border we can do nothing more than have a good conversation with those people," Depla said.