Covid restrictions in nursing homes may be relaxed on Monday: Report

The cabinet may announce as early as Monday that several corona measures in nursing homes will no longer apply or become more flexible. That is what Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said on Friday. The Outbreak Management Team (OMT) is examining the issue whether relaxation in nursing homes is already possible, now that most people there have received an injection against the coronavirus.

An interim version of the OMT advice has already leaked via the national broadcaster NOS. The experts would recommend that nursing home residents should receive two visitors a day instead of just one. They would also spend less time in quarantine after contact with a positive person.

The official advice from the OMT will follow, and the cabinet will make a decision on that basis on Monday. On that day, there will also be another corona press conference by De Jonge and Prime Minister Mark Rutte. “We certainly want to offer the relief of measures for nursing homes,” says De Jonge. But the cabinet wants to do that 'very carefully'.

"We have to realize that even in nursing homes there are a number of people who have not been vaccinated," says the healthcare minister. "We also have to realize that the protection is never 100 percent." That is why not all measures will simply be dropped from the table at once. "That will go step by step," emphasizes De Jonge. The cabinet will always ask the OMT for advice for each step.

Meanwhile, Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security said residents should not expect any further relaxations any time soon. This came following the news that the number of weekly deaths in the Netherlands last week was lower than expected for the first time in six months.