Press conference tomorrow: Christmas measures still unclear

Tomorrow evening, Dutch Prime Minister Rutte and Health Minister De Jonge will once again hold a press conference on coronavirus measures in the Netherlands. Questions are arising over what measures will look like for the Christmas holidays.

Minister De Jonge expressed his hopes for allowing people to celebrate together, but noted that Christmas is still a long way away, reports RTL Nieuws. “I do not think we can give clarity about that tomorrow. The numbers are much lower than they were, but still much higher than they should be.”

Two weeks of stricter measures complete

As promised, the measures announced two weeks ago will come to an end, meaning that group gatherings will be expanded again. Public buildings like museums, libraries, zoos, concert halls and amusement parks will once again be open. They will have the same measures put in place prior to the stricter two weeks. However, measures are not expected to relax more than this.

Catering industry

The cabinet is discussing whether to open the catering industry again tomorrow, but this is unlikely. Clearer measures for the hospitality industry are expected to only be announced around the beginning of December. However, a potential experiment with 25 restaurants may go forward this week.

Downscaling plan

As of now, the government only has plans in place for reducing the spread of coronavirus as quickly as possible. There are no clear plans for how the Netherlands will ease out of coronavirus measures once a vaccine is available, or when numbers drop enough. It is unlikely that a downscaling plan will be announced tomorrow either.

What do you think of the two weeks of stricter measures coming to an end? Tell us in the comments below.

Feature Image: DutchReview/Supplied

Emily Burger
Emily Burger
Emily grew up in South Africa but has also lived in Egypt, the UK, Canada and now the Netherlands. She first came here for her Bachelors in Arts and Culture at Maastricht University and soon fell in love with the land of canals, clogs and cheese. When she's not daydreaming about sci-fi movies or countries yet to explore, you can find her writing for DutchReview.

1 COMMENT

  1. Hello, i have another question to the prime minister not actually regarding the above mentioned issue: i am from austria and i have been waiting for 9 weeks now to be allowed to travel to amsterdam for very important private reasons. When will this be possible again without a 10 days quarantine as soon as arriving in the netherlands? I am checking all the relevant news daily and i am constantly hoping for positive ones regarding travelling to the netherlands very soon. Thank you. Best regards from innsbruck

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