“I have no easy message for you tonight, a large part of the population will get this virus’
said Prime Minister Rutte during a special speech he gave at 7pm from The Hague. “The reality is that the coronavirus is among us, and will remain among us. There is no quick way out of this situation. The reality is also that a large part of the Netherlands will become infected with the virus, experts say.”
Rutte also stated that “our country will not be skipped over” by the coronavirus. That is why measures such as the ones that announced yesterday are urgently needed, he explained.
No complete lockdown for the Netherlands
Rutte mentioned that at the moment, all measures are aimed at controlling the spread of the virus. “Nevertheless the Netherlands is an open country” he added. And because of this reason, there will be no lockdown. Building better immunity was a further reason for a lack of lockdown. And the country would have to go on lockdown for perhaps a year or longer, only to be fearful of the virus returning instantly when lockdown would end.
Kijk live mee met de toespraak van minister-president Rutte over de stand van zaken rond het #coronavirus ⬇ https://t.co/WdJVSw7OlF
— Mark Rutte (@MinPres) March 16, 2020
The cabinet will do everything it can to support people and companies economically
He also had a message for all individuals and companies that are getting terribly hit by the coronavirus measures: the cabinet will do everything it can to soften the blow, more measures on that front will be announced in the coming time.
People, look after each other – Rutte
Just like you, we have many questions as to what this means in reality. And we’ll further analyze this speech tomorrow. Stay safe all, these are extraordinary times…
Feature Image: Minister-president Rutte/Flickr
