The Netherlands: COVID-19 in Europe: Netherlands to allow bars, restaurants and cultural venues to reopen

The Dutch government has announced that bars, restaurants, museums, theatres and other venues are to be allowed to re-open under conditions, loosening some of the toughest COVID-19 restrictions in Europe.

For more than a month, bars, restaurants, and cultural venues have been closed, while strict quarantine rules have shut a quarter of primary school classes in the Netherlands.

The announcement by Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday evening comes despite record new coronavirus infection levels, as hospitalisations from the country's Omicron wave have been lower than initially feared.

Read more at: COVID-19 in Europe: Netherlands to allow bars, restaurants and cultural venues to reopen | Euronews

The Netherlands: Dutch cabinet to discuss COVID-19 rules as OMT advises further relaxations

The government’s decision to leave a number of lockdown measures in place at the last press conference was met with much controversy and various protests and demonstrations across the Netherlands. Now, however, less than two weeks later, the outlook appears to be more positive and Prime Minister Mark Rutte is optimistic about lifting various COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday.

The OMT is also feeling more hopeful, with the latest report from medical experts advising the Dutch government to reopen the hospitality and cultural industries, albeit with an enforced closing time of 8pm.

Sources in The Hague have suggested that Rutte and Health Minister Ernst Kuipers will opt to open restaurants, museums, theatres, and cinemas, with an enforced closing time of 10pm. With these venues reopening, the government will also reintroduce the use of coronavirus certificates.

Read more at: Dutch cabinet to discuss COVID-19 rules as OMT advises further relaxations

he Netherlands: Dutch museums and concert halls open as hair salons to protest Covid-19 rules

Museums and concert halls temporarily turned themselves into beauty salons and gyms in the Netherlands on Wednesday in protest against the Dutch government's coronavirus restrictions. Advertising

A barber and two nail artists tended to visitors among priceless works of art at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and two barbers set up their chairs on the stage of the Concertgebouw in the capital.

The cultural sector says it is unfair that they must remain closed while Covid curbs were lifted last week on shops and so-called "contact professions" like barbers, nail salons and even sex work.

Read more at: Dutch museums and concert halls open as hair salons to protest Covid-19 rules

The Netherlands shatters single-day coronavirus record with 35,000 infections reported

The Dutch public health institute was informed of nearly 35,000 new coronavirus infections in the Netherlands between Thursday and Friday morning. That was more than 10,000 higher than the previous record set just one day earlier. The RIVM said Friday's high figure also includes all of the data which was missing from its report on Thursday due to an IT error.

Despite the aberration caused by the missing data, the Netherlands was on pace to beat the previous record for most infections reported in a single week. The official statistic is calculated every seven-day period ending on Tuesday morning. The all-time record is 155,152, set during the last week of November 2021. Since the last report, a total of 84,244 coronavirus infections were registered by the RIVM, with four more days left to go in the week. The 2020 weekly record was 82,340, set in December of that year, but testing was not widely available in the Netherlands until June 2020.

Read more at: https://nltimes.nl/2022/01/07/netherlands-shatters-single-day-coronavirus-record-35000-infections-reported

The Netherlands,EU,Coronavirus,Lockdown,PM Mark Rutte,Confusing decissions,

The Netherlands was the first European country to go into lockdown as the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus spread to Europe. But it’s unlikely to be the first out.

A stalling vaccination booster campaign, combined with concerns that the rapid spread of Omicron could sideline essential workers in huge numbers, poses a dilemma for Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s new government: to reopen, or not to reopen?

“The amount of infections is taking on British proportions,” says epidemiologist Marino van Zelst, referring to the most recent number of infections being the highest recorded since the pandemic began.

Read more at: The Dutch went into Omicron lockdown fast; coming out could take longer – POLITICO

WHO: Omicron is 'killing people' and should not be called 'mild', WHO warns

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned on Thursday against describing the Omicron variant as "mild" amid a "tsunami of cases" overwhelming health systems across the world.

"Last week, the highest number of COVID-19 cases were reported so far in the pandemic," Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters during a regular press briefing.

Read more at: Omicron is 'killing people' and should not be called 'mild', WHO warns | Euronews

Coronavirus: Caging the dragon: Research approach to COVID‐19–related thrombosis -

Netherlands. Within the consortium, clinical data of at least 5000 admitted COVID-19–infected individuals are available, including substantial collections of biobanked materials in an estimated 3000 people. In addition to considerable experience in preclinical and clinical thrombosis research, the consortium embeds virology-hemostasis research models within unique biosafety facilities to address fundamental questions on the interaction of virus with epithelial and vascular cells, in relation to the coagulation and inflammatory system. The DCTC has initiated a comprehensive research program to answer many of the current questions on the pathophysiology and best anticoagulant treatment of COVID-19–associated thrombotic complications. The research program was funded by grants of the Netherlands Thrombosis Foundation and the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development. Here, we summarize the design and main aims of the research program.

Read more at: Caging the dragon: Research approach to COVID‐19–related thrombosis - Kruip - 2021 - Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis - Wiley Online Library

Dutch health experts advise a full lockdown to slow Omicron

The health experts advising the Netherlands' government on COVID-19 strategy have recommended the country go into a "strict" lockdown, Dutch media reported on Friday, just days after a partial lockdown was extended through January.

Read more at: Dutch health experts advise a full lockdown to slow Omicron -media | Reuters

EU: The Netherlands and Australia find the omicron variant as curbs spread

The Netherlands confirmed 13 cases of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus on Sunday and Australia found two as the countries half a world apart became the latest to detect it in travelers arriving from southern Africa.

A raft of curbs being imposed by nations around the world as they scramble to slow the variant's spread also grew, with Israel deciding Sunday to bar entry to foreign nationals in the toughest move so far.

Confirmed or suspected cases of the new variant have already emerged in several European countries, in Israel and in Hong Kong, just days after it was identified by researchers in South Africa. The "act first, ask questions later" approach reflected growing alarm about the emergence of a potentially more contagious variant nearly two years into a pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people, upended lives and disrupted economies across the globe.

Read more at: The Netherlands and Australia find the omicron variant as curbs spread : NPR

Coronavirus: Big Pharma can’t be trusted to solve coronavirus - by Nick Dearden

People might think that pandemics are great levellers: in a crisis, no matter how rich you are, you are as likely to die from a contagious disease as anyone else.But this is far from true, and while deadly diseases are of course a major worry for us all, the impact on those who are poorer is much heavier.

Fead more at: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/3/10/big-pharma-cant-be-trusted-to-solve-coronavirus

The Netherlands: Dutch COVID-19 patients transferred to Germany as Dutch hospitals struggle

The Netherlands started transporting COVID-19 patients across the border to Germany on Tuesday to ease pressure on Dutch hospitals, which are scaling back regular care to deal with a surge in coronavirus cases.

A patient was transferred by ambulance from Rotterdam to a hospital in Bochum, some 240 km (150 miles) east, on Tuesday morning, and another would follow later in the day, health authorities said.

Read more at: Dutch COVID-19 patients transferred to Germany as hospitals struggle | Reuters

The Netherlands: Coronavirus in the Netherlands: what changes on Saturday November 6

Masks will once again be compulsory in all public buildings where coronavirus passes are not required. This includes: Supermarkets and shops Libraries Government buildings and council offices Airports and railway stations Colleges and universities when moving between locations People in contact professions, such as hairdressers, will again have to wear masks, but not sex workers. Those who do not wear a mask can be fined €95. Masks remain compulsory in taxis and on public transport.

Read more at: Coronavirus in the Netherlands: what changes on Saturday - DutchNews.nl

The Netherlands: Coronavirus: Netherlands entirely red on European Covid map

Noord-Holland, Noord-Brabant, Groningen and Drenthe turned red on the map of coronavirus cases in Europe. This means that the whole of the Netherlands is now at the second-highest warning level. The four provinces were still orange last week but moved up due to the rapid increase in positive tests.

The ECDC, the European counterpart of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), publishes its coronavirus map every Thursday. The service looks at the number and percentage of positive tests in the two previous calendar weeks. The European coronavirus map has four colors. From low to high, these are green, orange, red, and dark red. Countries use the map to decide to tighten rules for travelers from other countries.

Read more at: Netherlands entirely red on European Covid map | NL Times

The Netherlands - Coronavirus: Red-orange-red: the Netherlands’ warning level due to go up on the European coronavirus map

Throughout September, and pretty much for as long as we can remember actually, the whole of the Netherlands has been red. Last week, however, the Netherlands turned orange — we all love orange, don’t we? 🍊 It was even predicted that certain provinces could turn green — the lowest warning colour.

If that all felt a little too good to be true, that’s probably because it was. This week the RIVM’s official coronavirus figures showed a huge increase from last week, meaning that no provinces will be going green — wat jammer. In fact, if more than 4% of the tests taken this week are positive, the Netherlands will be going right back to red again, RTL Nieuws reports.

Read more at: https://dutchreview.com/news/red-orange-red-netherlands-warning-level-due-to-go-up-on-european-coronavirus-map/

The Netherlands: Thousands in the Netherlands living in poverty as a result of COVID-19

According to figures from the aid organisation Red Cross, thousands of people up and down the country are living below the poverty line, relying on food banks and support to get by.

Figures show that single mothers, self-employed people, and low-income families have been hit the hardest by the pandemic, with thousands of vulnerable people being forced into a situation where they have to choose between buying food, paying rent, or buying other vital hygiene products.

“Vulnerable people often have no money for essential care products, such as sanitary towels, incontinence products, diapers, toothpaste or detergents,” explains Red Cross chief Marieke van Schaik. “If people cannot take good care of themselves and their household, it often makes it more difficult for them to get out of their predicament.”

Read more at: Thousands in the Netherlands living in poverty as a result of COVID-19

The Netherlands: Dutch Covid-19 hospitalizations at lowest point in 10 weeks

Hospitals in the Netherlands have admitted 301 patients with Covid-19 this past week, the lowest total since July 19. Hospital admissions have fallen by 20 percent compared to the previous seven-day period, according to figures from patient monitor LCPS which were updated on Monday.

An average of 43 patients were admitted each of the past seven days, including 10 sent to an intensive care unit. A week earlier, hospitals were accepting 54 patients daily, though the number of average ICU patient admissions remained the same.

Read more at: Dutch Covid-19 hospitalizations at lowest point in 10 weeks | NL Times

Netherlands remains red on Europe's coronavirus map - with Flevoland Province highest numbers of cases.

As expected, the whole of the Netherlands will remain red on the European Union's coronavirus risk level map for seven more days. Over 4.6 percent of all coronavirus tests performed in the Netherlands over the past two weeks were positive, according to data submitted by the Ministry of Health to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Anything over 4 percent during a two-week period puts an entire country at the red level. Red is the second highest warning color on the map that the European health service ECDC produces every Thursday. All twelve provinces were also at red last week.

Flevoland is relatively the largest fire in the country. In the past two weeks, 281 out of every 100,000 inhabitants tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. That is considerably lower than last week's calculation. Friesland follows, but the number of positive tests there is almost 19 percent higher than with data used to produce last week's ECDC map. With 254 cases per capita, Friesland has overtaken Noord-Holland (244), Zuid-Holland (241) and Overijssel (227). The number of cases is also increasing in Utrecht.

Read more at: Netherlands remains red on Europe's coronavirus map | NL Times

EU: Netherlands to stop social distancing but expand Covid entry passes from Sept. 25

Physical distancing rules in the Netherlands that call for people to remain 1.5 meters away from each other will be cancelled as of September 25. From that same date, a coronavirus pass frequently generated by the CoronaCheck app will be mandatory for everyone aged 13 and older when visiting catering businesses and cultural venues, including cafés, concert halls and theaters, sources close to the Cabinet confirmed after reports from RTL Nieuws, De Telegraaf and NOS.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Hugo de Jonge are expected to announce the decisions during a press conference on Tuesday evening. Rutte and members of the Cabinet met on Sunday with pandemic advisors from the Outbreak Management Team to discuss the coronavirus situation in the Netherlands at Catshuis, the prime minister’s official residence.

Read more at: Netherlands to stop social distancing but expand Covid entry passes from Sept. 25 | NL Times

The Netherlands: Dutch coronavirus average rises for the first time in four weeks; Positivity rate holds above 14%

The seven-day average for new coronavirus cases in the Netherlands rose by one percent to 2,373 on Monday. The average has fallen for 27 consecutive days from a peak of 10,160, though the rate of decrease showed signs of slowing over the past week.

The average was about nine percent lower compared to a week ago according to raw data from the RIVM. Some 16,418 coronavirus cases were registered over the past seven days according to a mix of raw and corrected data, which puts the average closer to 2,345.

The RIVM learned of 2,275 more positive coronavirus tests during the 24 hours leading up to 10 a.m. on Monday. That was still about one percent lower than the previous day, but it was nearly 10 percent higher than a week ago. The daily total has remained between two and three thousand for 11 straight days.

Read more at: https://nltimes.nl/2021/08/16/dutch-coronavirus-average-rises-first-time-four-weeks-positivity-rate-holds-14

Vaccines give COVID-19 survivors a big immune boost, studies show

According to a new Gallup survey, one of the main reasons Americans cite for not planning to get vaccinated is the belief that they're protected since they already had COVID-19.

From the beginning health authorities have urged survivors to get the broader protection vaccination promises. While the shots aren't perfect, they are providing strong protection against hospitalization and death even from the delta mutant.

Read moreat: Vaccines give COVID-19 survivors a big immune boost, studies show | CBC News