Parliament supports extension of coronavirus curfew
The vast majority of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, supported the government's decision to extend the coronavirus curfew until March 3. The parliamentarians did, however, ask the government to create clear perspective on how and when the measure can be abolished, NU.nl reports.
The curfew extension was supported by coalition parties VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie, as well as by opposition parties GroenLinks, SP and PvdA. The parties said that the curfew is an unpleasant measure, but they see no alternative with which the number of coronavirus infections and hospitalizations can be reduced.
The effectiveness of the curfew will be tested again on February 23. The parties pointed out that the criteria for the measure to be scrapped are not clear. They asked Prime Minister Mark Rutte to come with clarity on that.
A number of parliamentarians still doubt whether the curfew has an effect on the number of coronavirus infections. For PVV leader Geert Wilders, that was the main reason to vote against extension, he said. PvdD, SGP, and DENK also voted against due to doubts.
Rutte said that the curfew and the measure that you can only get one visitor per day helped decrease the number of contacts between people, and as a result, hospitalizations have now started to decline.
