57 thousand cases of covid in the Netherlands: protests continue at the weekend. Around 30 restaurants and cafes in Horst aan de Maas threatened the government to open their doors over the weekend. Businesses also stated that if Prime Minister Rutte made a statement this evening that the restrictions would be lifted on January 26, they would abandon this decision.
Today, Hubert Bruls of the Security Council told the cabinet that a quick decision on the restrictions needed to be made. According to Bruls, relaxation should definitely happen, because the existing corona policies are ‘inexplicable’. Rutte and Kuipers will hold a press conference next Tuesday.
Horst aan de Maas Municipality, on the other hand, announced that they showed understanding and support for this reaction.
The municipality allowed businesses between 12:00 and 16:00.
Despite all these pressures to relax, the cabinet said no decisions will be made before Tuesday. Speaking on behalf of the Cabinet, Minister of Health Kuipers announced that 57 thousand people were infected with the coronavirus, as a record number today. The minister said that according to this rate, one out of every 75 Dutch people is positive for coronavirus. Kuipers continued:
“This is a pretty high rate that we’ve already done a lot of relaxation.”
Prime Minister Rutte, on the other hand, said that he did not give any guarantees, but that if any restrictions were lifted, the culture and food industry would come first. Rutte also emphasized that decisions are taken in line with data, and that this decision will be taken accordingly. The Outbreak Management Team will await OMT’s recommendations on cabinet data.