SIPPING A BEER on a pub terrace may be the Netherlands’ holiest rite of spring. But the country’s grim incidence of covid-19, currently far higher than in Germany or Italy, has kept its pubs shut. As the weather has warmed, cries of “open the terrasjes!” have sounded ever louder in Dutch politics, and this week the government gave in. From April 28th cafés may open outdoor seating (two people per table, maximum) between noon and 6pm. Meanwhile the state is eyeing a more permanent solution. It is funding pilot programmes to explore whether rapid testing of patrons can allow reopening of restaurants, museums, cultural events and the like.
The budget is huge: €1.1bn ($1.3bn) through August, more than 0.1% of GDP. Of that, €2.7m goes to experiments this spring with large-scale events such as theatre performances and football matches. But critics say these are so flawed that they may prove useless. Participants are asked to get follow-up tests and report the results, but only about four-fifths do, spoiling the results for epidemiologists. Oddly, the researchers say they are not even trying to study whether the events lead to more infections, but only whether participants follow social-distancing rules. Public documents do not specify the trials’ research questions, as would be expected for a scientific Process.
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A pricey rapid-testing programme rings alarms in the Netherlands | The Economist
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