Cabinet must give hospitality, culture sectors clarity about future, mayors say

The Cabinet must let the catering and cultural sector know what their near future will look like this week. The government must make these sectors' prospects more concrete. It is not enough to say that the possible reopening of the catering and cultural sector will be reviewed on January 25.

That is what the 25 mayors on the Security Council said. They met digitally with Justice Minister Dillan Yesilgöz on Monday evening. Yesilgöz promised to convey the message to the Cabinet, said Security Council chairman Hubert Bruls, mayor of Nijmegen.

The Security Council wants the Cabinet to make it clear on Tuesday that the coronavirus measures must be enforced. "That is necessary because new actions like Saturday in the catering industry are already in the pipeline," said Bruls. On Wednesday, theaters want to "rename" themselves a hair salon, as hairdressers are allowed to open again but theaters are not. Theater visitors will get a haircut and a performance. Museums want to start giving gym classes this week for the same reason.

"A short, demonstrative action may be possible, but simply reopening as if there were no rules that prohibit it is out of order. The Cabinet must be very sharp about this," said Bruls. According to him, the fact that some security regions and mayors encouraged and supported the illegal reopening of the catering industry on Saturday "did not deserve beauty prize." Although each municipality has its own responsibility, the Security Council now assumes that all municipalities will step in if certain sectors open their doors against the rules.