Schools closed to force parents to work from home, Health Minister says
The decision to close primary and secondary schools as part of the hard coronavirus lockdown now effective in the Netherlands, must also result in parents working from home more, Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health said in the television program Het coronavirus, feiten en fabels. "It is precisely working from home that hasn't been going so well lately," the Minister said.
The risk of the coronavirus spreading when parents bring their children to school also played a role in the government's decision to close them. Vulnerable children and children whose parents have vital professions can still go to school.
On the television program, De Jonge explained that the coronavirus reproduction or R number is currently at around 1.24. That means that each Covid-19 patient infects 1.24 other people. If that doesn't change, the Netherlands will have just as many Covid-19 patients around Christmas as the peak of the first wave in the spring.
Warnings about this from the Outbreak Management Team and public health institute RIVM also pushed the government to implement stricter measures. For the virus to fade away, the R number must be below 1. "We have no other option than to go full on the emergency brake," De Jonge said.
On Monday, Prime Minister Mark Rutte put the Netherlands in a hard lockdown, closing all non-essential stores, schools, museums, zoos and many contact professions for five weeks. People are allowed no more than two guests at home, except for the Christmas days when they can have three. A full list of applicable restrictions can be found here.
Opposition parties raised concerns that the government waited too long to intervene. De Jonge denies this. "What we consider every time is how we can hit the virus as hard as possible, without causing too much damage to the economy and society."
