With the Omicron now being the most prevalent variation of the virus, and the mildest not the least, some countries in Europe are giving up completely the Covid restrictions and allow their citizens to come back to a normal life, while other countries are still going full steam ahead, with mandatory vaccinations programs and other discriminatory measures in place. The Netherlands now wants to play both ways.
The previous health minister, Hugo de Jonge went hell bent against the virus. So dedicated to the cause, that he was willing to ignore deliberately the reality and push the government agenda to the letter, no matter the consequences. Now that he's gone (as in politics, gone means he has now a new function - Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning under the same Rutte government), the new health minister Kuipers is changing the strategy of the game, and he's playing the good cop hand. Sort of.
Everyone around expects that starting with 1st of March, all the restrictions will be lifted. The Netherlands went no so long ago through another lockdown, and everyone is kinda fed up with the situation. People are vaccinated, boostered, living the last two years with uncertainties and restrictions of their freedom, and that should be enough. Well... the government might not quite agree.
What they intend to do in order to open the society:
The cabinet plans to allow cafes and bars to open up to 1am from next Friday, and to increase the number of people in theatres and sports stadiums, health minister Ernst Kuipers has told MPs in a briefing.
They will let bars and cafes, also clubs, to be open until 1am! Such a great decision. Could have been no restriction whatsoever in place, but no no no, they should let bars and cafes to understand who's actually in charge. The limit is completely arbitrary and makes no sense. Why not 3am or 4am? Why a limit at all? Kuipers doesn't have an answer to that.
Locations for up to 500 visitors will no longer have to observe social distancing or to provide fixed seating. Locations with more than 500 people will still have to have seating but guests will no longer have to keep their distance from each other.
Another round of comical non-sense. Why forcing everyone to be seated for places with more than 500 capacity will make a difference? And that means, for example on a stadium, that when your team is scoring, you still have to be seated or you're allowed to jump and express your happiness? And if so, for how long before you sit again? Questions, questions, questions...
Everything sounds right at this point, no?! Wrong! Everything above will happen...
....if infection rates allow it, Kuipers said.
You didn't think it will be so easy, didn't you?
And what about infection rates, you might ask ?!
There are now fewer than 200 people on an IC ward and a total of 1,531 Covid patients in hospital, according to Thursday’s figures.
This is pretty much nothing, and even Kuipers has to admit that:
‘These increases are high in percentage terms but are relatively low in themselves,’ he said. ‘The increase in the number of people confirmed to have coronavirus appear to be leveling off.’
But guess what? They are still waiting on the OMT experts opinion, opinions that most of the time are either outdated, or in complete contradictory nature with reality.
Meanwhile, Amsterdam night clubs which have said they will open on Saturday in protest at the continuous closure will face fines if they do so, city officials have said.
The clubs, however, say they will press ahead with their civil disobedience campaign* despite the risk of a financial penalty.
Oh yeah, and the cherry on top is this:
The coronavirus pass will still be in use but will not be extended to new situations.
Because the new normal defined by the government is just a stupid play with numbers (500, 1am,etc) and endless ping pong consultations with the experts; they're afraid to let this go, to go full opening to a really normal life. People might get used to that and ignore the future calls to get Xth booster, in the name of the holy war against Covid.
*the Dutch society is known for its obedience to the rules, but when you hear that, you have to admit that something is really wrong
