Netherlands Announces Plan To Give People Up to Six Doses of COVID Vaccine

Hugo de Jonge, health minister of The Netherlands, has indicated the country could be preparing another three coronavirus booster vaccines.

De Jonge wrote a letter to his country's parliament Wednesday suggesting the Netherlands should consider additional rounds of booster vaccines to fight new variants, with two of these in 2022 and another shot in 2023.

Read more at: Netherlands Announces Plan To Give People Up to Six Doses of COVID Vaccine

WHO warns of 700,000 more COVID deaths in Europe by March 2022

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Europe remains “in the firm grip” of the coronavirus pandemic and the continent’s death toll could top 2.2 million this winter if current trends continue.

Another 700,000 Europeans could die by March 1, the WHO said on Tuesday, in addition to the 1.5 million who have already succumbed to the virus.

Read more at WHO warns of 700,000 more COVID deaths in Europe by March | Coronavirus pandemic News | Al Jazeera

The Netherlands: EU wants calm amid virus protests; rioters called 'idiots'

In the face of demonstrations across much of Europe protesting tough COVID-19 measures over the past days, authorities on Monday pleaded for patience, calm and a willingness to get a vaccine shot in the arm as infections spike upward again.

And for those who abused the protests to foment violence, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte just called them “idiots.”

Protest marches from Zagreb to Rome and from Vienna to Brussels and Rotterdam, bringing tens of thousands out, all had one message from a coronavirus-weary crowd — we’ve had enough!

“Not able to work where you want work, to be where you want to be. That’s not what we stand for, that’s not freedom,” said Eveline Denayer, who was at Sunday’s march in Brussels, which drew a crowd of over 35,000.

“We live in Western Europe and we just want to be free, how we were before,” she said.

Read more at: EU wants calm amid virus protests; rioters called 'idiots' | AP News

The Netherlands:Rotterdam police open fire as Covid protest turns into ‘orgy of violence’

In what the Dutch city’s mayor described as an “orgy of violence”, crowds of several hundred rioters orched cars, set off fireworks and threw rocks at police during the protests on Friday evening. Police responded with warning shots and water cannon.

Police said on Twitter on Saturday that 51 people had been arrested, about half of whom were under 18.

“Three rioters were wounded when they were hit by bullets, they remain in hospital,” police added, in an update after earlier reporting two wounded.

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/19/the-netherlands-rotterdam-police-open-fire-as-covid-protest-turns-violent?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

The Netherlands : PM Rutte Asks Citizens to Work From Home, Lifting Lockdown an 'Error Of Judgement' - Zoe Strozewski

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte asked citizens to return to working at home as the Netherlands has seen a surge in COVID-19 infection rates, the Associated Press reported. Case numbers rose quickly in the country after the Dutch government loosened lockdown restrictions in June, even permitting nightclubs to reopen.

Read more at: The Netherlands Asks Citizens to Work From Home, Lifting Lockdown an 'Error Of Judgement'

EU: Netherlands reimposes COVID-19 measures over rise in cases

Rutte said the government will now only allow one-day public events in venues filled to two-thirds capacity, and spectators must prove their vaccination and infection status.

All restaurants and bars in the Netherlands will also need to close their doors from midnight until 6am each day, while live music is to be banned.

A ticketing system allowing people to be exempt from the social distancing rule will also be paused until next month, when the government will review the situation.

De Jonge said the recent surge in infections mostly affected young people, but warned it was “inevitable” that the elderly would also become infected unless the government took action. ■

Read more at: Netherlands reimposes COVID-19 measures over rise in cases | Health | POST Online Media

Coronavirus- de wereld wil bedrogen worden - maar dit komt niet van God - blijf positief - RM

Je hoort dezer dagen heel veel negatief nieuws, dat vooral is ontstaam door het fenomeen Coronavirus een virus die de wereld nu meer dan een jaar in haar greep heeft weten te houden

Maar let op. Wees niet te veel bezig met alles wat negatief is en afbreekt. Doe niet mee met mensen die altijd maar mopperen en zuchten, dat doet ons geestelijk niet goed en het is zeker niet de wil van God. Richt uw aandacht liever op Jezus (Hebr.12:2), die alle macht heeft en iedere situatie in ons leven in Zijn hand heeft.

Dat geeft vertrouwen en stabiliteit in het leven. Het is beslist niet van God om altijd en overal, van tevoren,beren en leeuwen op je weg te zien.

Wij mensen moeten ons,ook niet te veel aantrekken van radicale organisaties die ons bang proberen te maken door allerlei komplot theorieën van radicale aard te verspreiden. O.A, de internationale, uit Amerika overgewaaide QAnon.

Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur. Deze Latijnse spreuk die toegeschreven wordt aan Petronius, luidt vertaald: ’De wereld wil bedrogen worden, dus wordt zij bedrogen’.

Als het over positief denken gaat is er voor mij niets positiever dan het voorbeeld dat we krijgen van Jezus aan het Kruis, vastgenageld en in verschrikkelijke pijn, die naar de hemel kijkt en zegt: "Vader vergeef hun, want ze weten niet wat zij doen".

Inderdaad de mensheid weet meestal niet wat ze doen!

Read more at: http://www.almere-digest.blogspot.com

The Netherlands: Ferries from UK banned from sailing to Netherlands

Ferry lines which transport passengers from the United Kingdom across the North Sea to the Netherlands will not be permitted from Monday as the Dutch government attempts to prevent a highly-contagious variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus from spreading through the Dutch population. After a considerable rise in infections in the UK, many parts of that country went back into a strict lockdown over the weekend.

At the very start of Sunday, Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge sent a letter to Parliament announcing that the Netherlands banned passenger flights from the UK effective immediately, and for an initial duration of about ten days. Belgium followed suit with a ban that included trains, meaning Eurostar rail service from the UK could no longer reach the Netherlands.

Read more at:Ferries from UK banned from sailing to Netherlands: Reports | NL Times

The Netherlands: Ferries from UK banned from sailing to Netherlands

Ferry lines which transport passengers from the United Kingdom across the North Sea to the Netherlands will not be permitted from Monday as the Dutch government attempts to prevent a highly-contagious variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus from spreading through the Dutch population. After a considerable rise in infections in the UK, many parts of that country went back into a strict lockdown over the weekend.

At the very start of Sunday, Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge sent a letter to Parliament announcing that the Netherlands banned passenger flights from the UK effective immediately, and for an initial duration of about ten days. Belgium followed suit with a ban that included trains, meaning Eurostar rail service from the UK could no longer reach the Netherlands.

Read more at:Ferries from UK banned from sailing to Netherlands: Reports | NL Times

The Netherlands: Covid-19 deaths and infections fall to lowest levels for eight weeks

he number of newly reported Covid-19 deaths in the Netherlands fell to 16 on Monday, the second day in a row that the figure has increased by less than 20. The number of new infections dropped to 161, the lowest level since March 14, while 36 more people were admitted to hospital, the public health agency RIVM reported.

Delays in reporting at the weekend mean that figures on Monday tend to be artificially low, causing a mini-spike in reported cases on Tuesdays. The average death toll over the last seven days is 53, from a peak of 154 in the first week of April.

Read more at: Covid-19 deaths and infections fall to lowest levels for eight weeks - DutchNews.nl

EU: Netherlands schools will have plastic screens fitted on desks as they begin to reopen next week

Students are going back to school in the Netherlands as staff prepare measures including putting plastic shields around desks to prevent coronavirus spreading. Staff have installed disinfectant gel dispensers at the doorways at the Springplank school in Den Bosch and many others.

Infections in the Netherlands have been declining for weeks and the government announced a schedule to relax some of its lockdown measures on Wednesday, with elementary schools to reopen on May 11. 'Our teachers are not worried,' said Rascha van der Sluijs, the school's technical coordinator..

 While schools have been closed since March 14, many including the Springplank have remained open with skeleton staff for a handful of students whose parents work in essential sectors.

 Most of these pupils whose parents work in sectors such as healthcare have been taking classes online. Each district is setting its own policies for reopening, with many planning to accept students only on alternate days and some teachers wearing medical masks.

 There have been 42,093 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the Netherlands, with 5,359 deaths, according to data from the National Institute for Health.

Of those, 1.3 per cent of infections and one death were registered among people under 20 years old.

High schools are not due to open until June.

 At the Springplank, younger students will use one entrance and older students a different one. Parents will have to drop their children at the gate.

 Ms Van der Sluijs said: 'What we're worried about is the adults. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said: 'To start, children in primary schools will attend school half of the time. example, one day one half of the pupils, the other day the other half. The starting date for all schools and day cares is 11 May.'

 Read More: Netherlands schools will have plastic screens fitted on desks as they begin to reopen next week | Daily Mail Online

EU: A virus is haunting Europe - the vector is capitalism- by Brendan Montague

The novel coronavirus is infectious, deadly and invisible to the naked eye. It spreads exponentially, has traversed the globe and today poses a threat to the very foundations of modern civilisation. All these properties it shares with capitalism.

There are three primary ways in which capitalism has escalated the current coronavirus crisis: the transmission of the virus to humans, the spread of the virus globally, and the failure of governments and deregulated markets to contain the spread of infections.

The transfer of this coronavirus from animals to humans, the subsequent infection of populations in almost every country and the collapse of health services would not have been possible without the specific circumstances brought about by our current economic system. Covid-19 is the name we have given the disease. SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus. The vector is capitalism.

Scientists in China - the world’s second largest economy - are currently focussing their resources on containing the spread of the virus and finding treatments and vaccinations for its victims. But some information has already been established about the most likely beginnings of novel coronavirus.

The current most likely hypothesis is that Covid-19 or its predecessor originated in the bat population - which is known to carry a virus with a 96 percent match. The bat population was also believed to be the starting place for the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in 2003. Covid-19 was then likely transferred to human beings through the sale of wild animals, perhaps slaughtered on site at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, in Hubei province, China.

James Meadway, a former advisor to Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnall, has argued at Novara Media that “coronavirus will require us to completely reshape the economy”. He warns that a recession is now inevitable. More than that, Covid-19 will produce an even bigger crisis than 2008 because “it threatens the most fundamental institution of all in capitalism: the labour market itself.” 

We have seen that the prospect of workers staying at home has destroyed the value on the world’s stock markets.

Workers need to defend themselves against the economic crisis. Trade unions and activists must fight for better sick pay, protection against redundancy, a fair benefits system at the very least and better still a universal basic income. We need a functioning National Health Service, we need to nationalise those useful corporations and industries that would otherwise go to the wall. 

In the US, Sanders has called for $2,000 monthly payments for US households to deal with this crisis. Every one of these measures represents a return to health of the body politic, and the fighting back against the capitalist infection.

The solutions we need today are profoundly non-capitalist, perhaps the seeds of post capitalism. The solution is community activism. The primary example is the hundreds of mutual aid groups that arose simultaneously. A nation of volunteers organised through mutual aid groups are preparing to support neighbours - often strangers - during the hardest of times. There has also been a rapid political grassroots response to the crisis. And the climate movement continues, albeit online. 

But we do have to go even further. Capitalism is the vector for coronavirus, but has itself become sick. But we need to kill it. If capitalism does survive, if it can revive, it will once again again drive climate breakdown, biodiversity collapse, the devastation of our croplands.

Read more: A virus is haunting Europe - the vector is capitalism

EU - Germany confirms that Trump tried to buy firm working on coronavirus vaccine

Read more at
Germany confirms that Trump tried to buy firm working on coronavirus vaccine – POLITICO

The Netherlands - US Relations: Florida governor: sick passengers on cruise ship cannot be 'dumped' here "as a result Fort Lauderdale could be branded world-wide as an inhumane tourist destination"

The Florida Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, has said passengers on a coronavirus-stricken cruise trip cannot be “dumped” in his state, casting further doubt over where two vessels carrying hundreds of people will be a two vessels carrying hundreds of people will be allowed to dock.

Two people have tested positive for the disease and dozens are ill with flu-like symptoms on the Zaandam luxury cruise liner, which has not been able to dock after several Latin American countries closed their ports in response to the global pandemic.

Hundreds of North American, Australia, Dutch and British citizens are in isolation in their rooms and a boat-to-boat operation is underway to move some healthy travellers to a sister ship, the Rotterdam, over the weekend.

But there are fears that sick, elderly passengers and crew members will be left stranded at sea during a global pandemic, with some on board isolating in small, humid cabins with no natural light or fresh air.
Holland America Line, which owns the cruise ship, confirmed on Friday that four elderly passengers had died onboard. It is not clear whether they died after catching Covid-19.

“Unfortunately, four of our fellow guests have passed away – one last night, two yesterday and one a few days ago,” the ship’s captain Captain Jan Smit said in an announcement, which was obtained by The Guardian. “We are still seeing both guests and crew with symptoms reporting to the medical center. The situation continues to grow more challenging each day.”

Both ships are presently on their way to Fort Lauderdale.

Note EU-Digest: Both Ships - the Zaandam and the Rotterdam use Fort Lauderdale as their cruise base and all passengers on the ships boarded in Fort Lauderdale before any US travel restriction were issued. 

Florida  Governor Ron DeSantis better realize that if he does not allow all passengers of these cruise ships to disembark in Fort Lauderdale, so they can be properly taken care of and treated, that Florida will be branded around the world as an inhumane tourist destination.  

EU-Digest

Germany and the Netherlands: Corona Virus: Germany and the Netherlands seem to fight off the virus better than most. Here’s why - by Rupert Steiner

The Netherlands and Germany both showed glimmers of hope in the battle to combat coronavirus on Wednesday, as the numbers of cases in New York rose rapidly.

Data from Germany shows just 0.4% of people who tested positive for the virus have passed away, much less than the 9.5% in Italy and 4.3% in France. In the Netherlands growth in transmissions of the virus have slowed significantly.

Giving evidence in front of the Dutch Parliament Jaap van Dissel, boss of the Netherlands National Institute of Health, said: “The exponential growth of the outbreak has in all probability been brought to a halt,” with the infection only being passed on at a rate of one infected person to another.

If proven, this would be a significant achievement. In some countries, the spread from one infected person has been to as many as five or more. In the U.S., the state of New York had 5,146 new cases
confirmed on Wednesday, and more than 30,000 have tested positive.

The low death rate in Germany has confounded experts, and it could be due to different causes. The possible explanation is that doctors aggressively screened citizens who were either fit or sick early on at the time they took the test, at a rate not seen in other countries, who only had the resources to test the very sick. This have skewed the compaarison with other countries, because those who were fit when tested and had caught the virus were more likely to suffer from a mild case and survive.

Germany also was more effective than most countries at tracking and tracing contacts of infected patients before the spread took hold, effectively containing it better than other countries.

Another more random theory is that the first Germans to contract the virus caught it mixing with other nationalities while skiing, which suggested that they were fit and active, and less likely to succumb to the disease.

Read more at: Germany and the Netherlands seem to fight off the virus better than most. Here’s why - MarketWatch

The Netherlands: Coranavirus Repatriation €10 million fund launched to bring Dutch Citizens back to the Netherlands

Travelers stuck outside of the Netherlands due to flights being halted or severely limited in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic have a new option to get help to return home. A ten-million euro fund was launched on Monday to provide assistance to stranded fliers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday.

Essentially, passengers will contribute 300 euros for their own repatriation if returning back from the European Union or 20 countries near the EU. The personal contribution rises to 900 euros for countries further away from the list of EU-adjacent countries.

"We need to do our utmost to get these people home safely," said Stef Blok, the Dutch foreign minister, of the complicated situation. "Because of the huge impact of the coronavirus, this group in particular really has nowhere else to turn."

Read more at: €10 million fund launched to bring people back to Netherlands | NL Times

The Netherlands: Total coronavirus cases quadruple in a week to 4,204; Death toll reaches 179

 Some 43 coronavirus patients died in the Netherlands since Saturday, with the nation now mourning the loss of 179 people, public health agency RIVM said on Sunday. The agency also announced that another 573 tested positive for the virus, pushing the total number of diagnosed patients to 4,204, nearly four-times the number of patients recorded on March 15.

Just one week ago, the total number of patients in the Netherlands was 1,077. By that date, a total of 20 people who tested positive for the virus had died, a figure which has increased by 800 percent in the past seven days.

The dead ranged in age from 57 to 97, a change from the range of 63 to 95 years of age reported by the agency on Friday.

Another 152 were identified as being treated in hospital since Saturday. The number of people that have required hospitalization since the first patient in the Netherlands was diagnosed in February equaled 988.

On Saturday, there were 354 people being treated in intensive care units across the Netherlands, which has 1,150 ICU beds in total. The government said the total number of ICU beds could be quickly scaled up to 1,500, and another 500 could be created by reallocating resources like ventilators present at various clinics.

Noord-Brabant again saw the biggest increase in people testing positive, with 224 new patients raising its total to 1,404. Zuid-Holland demonstrated an increase of 99 people testing positive there, bringing that province's total to 585, while Noord-Holland (535) showed an increase of 71 patients. Overall, the percentage of the country's total patients resident in Noord-Brabant sat at about 33 percent, a slight increase from Saturday's figures. Ten days ago, Noord-Brabant was home to about 45 percent of coronavirus patients.

The Netherlands: Total coronavirus cases quadruple in a week to 4,204; Death toll reaches 179 | NL Times

EU Unity Needed More than Ever: EU leaders need to be communicating a shared vision to get us through the coronavirus crisis

The role of the European institutions has been seriously questioned during the past two weeks. As a passionate European, this hurts to see. Despite the efforts of the European Commission to help and to intervene in the crisis, member states have decided rather to take a national approach and to focus less on coordination and solidarity. The fact that the European institutions are not being seen as problem solvers tells a relevant and consequential story. Moreover, recent developments speak volumes about how much trust national leaders actually place - undeservingly - in the President of the European Commission, the commissioners and their teams.

The Commision has the opportunity to step up its communications game, since nobody else is really standing up for Europe (locally as well as globally) in these critical times. Before we achieve “Global Europe,” let us secure “Community Europe.” The Commission should act without expecting any further mandate since Europe is, as Emmanuel Macron put it on Monday in regard to France, "at war." The continent is now, after all, the new global "epicentre" of COVID-19, so communication will be paramount and the way the EU does so on key issues will matter.

First, they should concentrate on EU values and delivery amid health concerns. More important than the political relations between member states and the European institutions is the sentiment that European solidarity is as scarce as medical masks and scrubs. The initial response to the Italian call for help is not something Europe should be proud of. The option overwhelmingly embraced by national governments to close borders also highlights the difficulty of coordination at the EU level: when panic comes, we go national. Maybe expectations are too high and the crisis too deep, but, at the end of the day, what remains is the perception that every country is on its own. Perhaps this impression is wrong or will be changed as events unfold. But this should be part of a serious conversation about what European solidarity means in good and, more importantly, bad times. Here again, the European Commission - and empathically, its leader - should lead in the months to come. In times of crisis, people follow examples: think Churchill (alas, Brexit!) not chilling out.

Second, the economy. More broadly, the entire debacle over medical products and equipment brings a key question about economic globalisation and global value chains. The COVID-19 pandemic brings to the fore the idea that Europe cannot externalise everything - a reframing of strategic autonomy to include this is in order. Maintaining production capacity and facilities for essential products is fundamental, and here the strategic interest is more important than the generous principles of open trade and free markets. It is hard to say what will be the dominant view at the end of the crisis, but, at this moment, everyone is asking for expansion of the State and for more state interventions, putting the EU and more widely, the liberal democratic economic model, under stress.

Read more at: EU leaders need to be communicating a shared vision to get us through the coronavirus crisis ǀ View | Euronews

Coronavirus: 'Viruses don't carry passports:' Why travel bans won't work to stop spread of COVID-19

U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to restrict travel from most European countries to try to contain what he called a "foreign virus" isn't grounded in science and breaks international law, experts say. 

 Read more at 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/covid19-travel-bans-1.5495919

EU-US Relations: U.S. to Ban Travel From EU for 30 Days with the exception of Britain due to coronavirus -

In a televised address 0n Wednesday 11th of March  Trump said travel from 26 European countries would be suspended for the next 30 days.Britain would be excluded/

But he said the "strong but necessary" restrictions would not apply to the UK, where 460 cases of the virus have now been confirmed.

here are 1,135 confirmed cases of the virus across the US, with 38 deaths.

"To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe," Mr Trump said from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening.

"The new rules will go into effect Friday at midnight," he added. The travel order does not apply to US citizens.

Note Almere - Digest : Unbelievable, what a confusing message. No details of the fundamentals in his speech. No empathy, no common sense advice, just blaming other countries, and band-aid solutions.It sounded more like a man who was unhappy that it was raining on his parade. What is next? Marshall law, so Trump can become the first official US dictator?

Almere-Digest