The Netherlands went all-in on the reopening of society, and since July 26 we’ve been living almost without any restrictions. But how does that translate in coronavirus infection rates?
Not very well it turns out. Specifically, the reopening of nightlife has proved worrisome as clusters of infections are popping up in clubs all over the country, reports NU.nl.
180 people infected after clubbing in Enschede
Last Saturday, 600 people attended a club in Enschede for a fun night out. Everyone had been either tested, provided a vaccination certificate, or could prove that they’d been infected in the past six months. ID was checked at the door and compared with their CoronaCheck app.
Nonetheless, 180 people became infected.
The mayor on Enschede said that he was “horrified” to hear about the infection rate from the club, and “did not see this coming,” reports the NOS. As it is still unclear how such a high infection rate was possible, the GGD is working together with the club owner to find out what went wrong.
Test result mix-up and rising infection rates in Amsterdam
Unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more common for people to wake up from a night out with more than just a hangover. After spending the night at a packed pub, a young man from Amsterdam woke up to a call from his coronavirus test provider saying they’d accidentally given him the wrong test result. He had, in fact, been positive the whole time.
In Amsterdam, infections have risen to 62.9 per 100,000 inhabitants. This is a dramatic increase from the week of 20-27 June (right when measures were cut) where only 29 cases were detected per 100,000 inhabitants.
Continued pattern across the country
While infection rates are higher in Amsterdam (yesterday there were 28.1 infections per 100,000 inhabitants compared to the national average of 8.9), clusters of positive test results are also being found in other cities — again these can be traced back to the dancefloor.
Despite using testen voor toegang (testing for access), six people were tested positive after a large party with their student association in Groningen.
Also in Maastricht, infections have been rising. After a staff party for four of the city’s catering establishments, 17 people tested positive.
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Image: Alexander Popov/Unsplash
