The Netherlands: Coronavirus decimates train travel but there will be more services next year

Despite the fall in the number of travellers caused by the coronavirus crisis, Dutch rail infrastructure company ProRail is expecting an increase in the number of services in 2021.

Next year railway companies plan to add nearly 2,800 more services – for both goods and passenger trains – taking the total up to 2,172,187. This means more trains on the tracks,

ProRail said, including an additional train between Groningen and Leeuwarden and a night train from Amsterdam to Vienna.

‘These new services have to be scheduled in in such a way that they don’t clash with other services,’ ProRail spokesman Sybren Hazenberg told broadcaster NOS. The new schedule also means existing services will operate faster, Hazenberg said.

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Coronavirus decimates train travel but there will be more services next year

The Netherlands: Storm Francis poised to hit the Netherlands, winds of up to 80kph expected

Summer storm Francis will hit the Netherlands on Tuesday evening, bringing wind speeds of up to 100 kph at sea, with rain and gales inland, weather bureaus say.

The KNMI meteorological office has issued a code yellow storm warning for coastal areas overnight, saying the wind could reach up to 80kph in the west. In particular strong gusts of wind may bring down trees which have been weakened by the drought, weather bureau Weerplaza said. This is likely to be a particular issue in built-up areas.

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Storm Francis

The Netherlands: Record number of infections in one week in the Netherlands

The Netherlands recorded 574 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, the largest increase since 15 August. Some 3,600 new cases have been reported in the last 7 days.

The Dutch authorities recorded 457 new infections on Sunday and 508 on Saturday. However, the total number of new cases is slowly but surely decreasing: more than 600 cases had been recorded on 15 August.

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Record number of infections in one week in the Netherlands

The Netherlands: At least 50 Dutch Twitter trolls are spreading coronavirus conspiracies

At least 50 Twitter
trolls in the Netherlands are using the social media platform to spread
conspiracy theories about coronavirus, researchers at data news website
Pointer have found.

Read more at DutchNews.nl:

At least 50 Twitter trolls in the Netherlands are using the social media platform to spread conspiracy theories about coronavirus, researchers at data news website Pointer have found.

At least 50 Twitter
trolls in the Netherlands are using the social media platform to spread
conspiracy theories about coronavirus, researchers at data news website
Pointer have found.

Read more at DutchNews.nl

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At least 50 Dutch Twitter trolls are spreading coronavirus conspiracies - DutchNews.nl

Coronavirus: Humidity key to minimize virus transmission — study

Relative humidity "strongly influences" the spread of viruses among people indoors, especially in dry rooms. That's the conclusion reached by an Indian-German research team which evaluated 10 mostly recent international studies.

"The role of humidity seems to be extremely important to the airborne spreadof COVID-19 in indoor environments," according to the report, which was also based on findings derived from past tests with similar viruses, H1N1 for influenza and MERS-CoV.

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Coronavirus: Humidity key to minimize virus transmission — study | News | DW | 20.08.2020

The Netherlands: Some 400 heat deaths in Netherlands’ hottest week ever

Over 400 more people died in the Netherlands last week, during the hottest week since temperature measurements started, than in the weeks before, Statistics Netherlands reported on Friday.

The recorded coronavirus related deaths were low, so the excess mortality "is thus almost entirely attributable to the higher temperatures", the stats office said. The Netherlands was in a national heatwave from August 5 to 16, lasting a total of 13 days. On nine of those days, temperatures topped 30 degrees. For the first time ever, the Netherlands saw eight consecutive days with temps above 30.Last week was also the hottestweek ever measured in the Netherlands, with an average maximum temperature of 33.1 degrees Celsius.

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Some 400 heat deaths in Netherlands’ hottest week ever | NL Times

The Netherlans: Dutch economy expected to grow again next year, Covid-19 effects to linger

The Dutch economy will  shrink by 5.1 percent this year, but recovery will start at the end of the year and in 2021 the economy will grow b3.2 percent, according to central planning office CPB's draft-macroeconomic foresight studies. The effects of the Covid-19 crisis will linger, however, with unemployment rising to 7 percent next year.

The CPB expects all parts of the economy to recover somewhat nextyear. Household consumption will decrease by 5.9 percent this year, and increase by 4.1 percent next year. Investments will go from -7.5 percent his year, to plus 4.4 percent next year. Exports will decrease by 5.2 percent this year, but increase by 4.7 percent next year, and imports will go from -3.7 percent this year to plus 5.4 percent in 2021. Government consumption is the only factor that won't see a decrease this year. It is expected to increase by 2.9 percent this year and by 2.0
percent next year.

CPB director Pieter Hasekamp told NOS that the coronavirus blow to the Dutch economy is "unprecedentedly hard" and "largely yet to befelt". "The corona crisis also has major consequences or things that affect the quality of life: we miss celebrating a wedding oranniversary, the theater and concert stages are empty, and there are serious concerns about loneliness in nursing homes."

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Dutch economy expected to grow again next year, Covid-19 effects to linger | NL Times