The Dutch King, Willem-Alexander will address the nation tonight at 19.00 in light of the coronavirus outbreak. The last time the King spoke like this was during the MH17 disaster in 2014. The King’s speech will be broadcasted live by NPO 1, NPO Radio 1, NPO and other news platforms including NOS.
Similarly, Prime Minister Mark Rutte is the first to give a television speech (on Monday) about the pandemic that has swept through the Netherlands since 1973, according to NOS.
In his speech, Rutte told the public that a large part of the public would become infected by the virus, and that the Netherlands as an open country would likely not be under complete lockdown, since realistically the virus will be around for a lot longer and a total lockdown may result in a second wave.
Work visits cancelled
According to the Government Information Service (RVD), the King and Queen (Maxima) had cancelled all their visits till March 21 (though seeing how things are going it is likely that this period might be lengthened). A trip to Lech, Austria for winter sports was also cancelled, RTLNieuws reports.
Although the King’s family is currently in social isolation – like most of us here in the Netherlands, they took a moment to clap for the nationwide applause organised in tribute to healthcare workers in the Netherlands:
Applaus van Koning Willem-Alexander, Koningin Máxima en de Prinsessen Amalia, Alexia en Ariane voor alle zorgmedewerkers, om hen een hart onder de riem te steken in hun strijd tegen het coronavirus en hun inzet voor de gezondheid van iedereen in Nederland. #applausvoordezorg pic.twitter.com/M1gVBmH22e
— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) March 17, 2020
Check out our coronavirus guide and video
We’ve created a guide with everything you need to know about the coronavirus in the Netherlands, answering most, if not all questions you might have about the virus. You can also check out our video on the topic.
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Feature Image: Arlington National Cemetery/Wikimedia Commons
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