On Sunday evening the mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb expressed on the show Nieuwsuur that he wouldn’t be surprised if a contact ban was introduced in the Netherlands as it was in Germany, according to nu.nl
In Germany, stricter measures were recently imposed in order to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country, whereby residents are no longer permitted to walk in the streets with more than two people at a time, except in the case of families, according to the NOS. This restriction will take place for a duration of at least two weeks and is meant to ‘shut down public life as much as possible,’ said chancellor Angela Merkel.
Mass Alert on Sunday
This Sunday, a mass alert was issued by the Dutch government in order to remind residents to stay at home if they were suffering from symptoms of a cough, cold or a fever, to stay 1.5 meters apart and to ‘keep your distance.’
The Dutch gov has just sent out a big text warning to phones across the Netherlands to warn everybody about keeping their distance and staying inside when they're not well #NLALERT #heelnederland #rivm #lockdownnl #coronavirus https://t.co/kAHMEMlmRG
— DutchReview (@Dutchreviewing) March 22, 2020
However, good weather conditions meant that many were outside, taking to the town streets and parks. Aboutaleb noted that although a contact ban in the Netherlands would ‘be a horrible measure,’ if advice is not followed more serious action will be necessary.
More severe measures
Aboutaleb stated that it was ‘careless and undisciplined behaviour’ not to follow advice. The mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, also noted in the television program, Buitenhof that that observably, a complete government-imposed lockdown is not preferable but if people do not follow orders then more serious measures may be imposed.
The Minister of Justice and Security, Ferd Grapperhaus stipulated in the TV program EenVandaag that it was embarrassing to see healthcare workers on continuously working on the clock and in the meantime, seeing people ‘walking through a forest.’
Today, mayors of major cities in the Netherlands will meet with the Dutch cabinet. Coronavirus numbers in the Netherlands are only getting worse– perhaps more serious measures are indeed needed.
Do you think the Netherlands should take more serious measures to combat the novel coronavirus? If so, what should they be? Leave your answers in the comments below.
Image: Wikipedia/cc/Wouter Engler (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burgemeester_Ahmed_Aboutaleb.jpg)