The Dutch cabinet wants to cancel introduction weeks for universities, given the risk of the coronavirus spreading.
An official decision will be made and announced at the press conference later today, reports RTL Nieuws. Insiders told RTL Nieuws yesterday that it is very unlikely that student introduction weeks will be held, as the government considers students a risk group when it comes to the spread of the coronavirus.
The National Student Union has expressed disappointment with the cabinet’s plan. Given that the first semester will be digital, the union considers it very important for students to be introduced to their school programmes and cities in person. “Especially if your education is going to be mainly digital, as a freshman you should have the opportunity to get to know your fellow students, your city and your college or university.”
Conference tonight
At 7 PM today, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the Minister of Health Hugo de Jonge will hold a press conference discussing new coronavirus measures, given the recent spike in cases.
Among other things, testing is expected to be facilitated for travellers arriving at Schiphol from high-risk areas. This way people coming from countries on the orange list will be able to spend less time in quarantine if they test negative.
The cabinet additionally hopes to lower the threshold for quarantine. This can only be done on a voluntary basis, as legally the options to oblige it are limited.
The cabinet plans to support mayors of cities and chairmen of security regions with certain measures. For example in the catering industry, by introducing a registration requirement for visitors, or by having these establishments close earlier in the day.
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