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Oops! Dutchies are accidentally downloading the wrong coronavirus app

Nicole Ogden 🇹🇭 🇺🇸
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Oops! Dutchies are accidentally downloading the wrong coronavirus app

Instead of the Dutch CoronaCheck, some Dutchies have been accidentally downloading the wrong COVID-19 app for their phones.

The confusion comes from a similarly-named app — Coronapas — that is used in Denmark. 🙈

People are downloading the Danish app instead of the Dutch one so frequently that even the Dutch Ministry of Health had to step in to clear the issue up. 💁‍♂️

“Don’t have the CoronaCheck-app yet? Make sure you download the right version. We’re seeing that a lot of people are downloading the Danish Coronapas-app but that one cannot be used in the Netherlands,” the ministry tweeted.

What is CoronaCheck?

Residents of the Netherlands can use the CoronaCheck app to prove that they have been vaccinated, tested negative for coronavirus, or have had coronavirus in the past.

This really comes in handy especially as starting from September 25, you will need this proof to get into cafés, restaurants, and other establishments.

Have you downloaded the CoronaCheck app yet? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature Image: stockasso/Depositphotos

A new Vincent van Gogh work has been discovered — and you can now go see it!

Nicole Ogden 🇹🇭 🇺🇸
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A new Vincent van Gogh work has been discovered — and you can now go see it!

Technically the work itself is not new because it was made a long time ago, but it’s new to us! The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has determined that a study made for the drawing Worn Out (1882) was made by the famous Dutch painter.

It is not often that new work is attributed to Van Gogh, according to museum director Emilie Gordenker.

The study shows a tired man sitting on a chair, cradling his head in his hands. He sports a bald head and wears working clothes.

It will be on display to the public from today at the Van Gogh Museum, alongside the final drawing of Worn Out.

The model

The model was a man who often was the subject of Van Gogh’s art (he drew the man over 40 times!).

He was one of the residents of the Dutch Reformed Men’s and Women’s House, and he frequently posed for the artist for a few quarters.

“How beautiful is such an old workman in his patched bombastic suit with a bald head,” remarked Van Gogh in his letters.

“The Hague era”

Van Gogh made this drawing while he was living in The Hague. His works from this period were characterised by “an expressive, quick style with energetic scratches and strokes,” — according to NOS.

The work was also drawn with thick carpenter’s pencil on coarse watercolour paper.

Will you be heading to the exhibition? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature Image: Van Gogh Museum/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

Ignoring the rules: many Dutch café owners say they won’t check coronavirus passes

Jen Lorimer 🇿🇼
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Ignoring the rules: many Dutch café owners say they won’t check coronavirus passes

On September 25, new rules will come into effect in which cafés and restaurants will need to check their patron’s coronavirus passes. However, dozens of Dutch café owners have announced that they will not do this, as they don’t want to exclude people.

At the most recent press conference, it was announced that as of September 25, the requirement to maintain a 1.5-metre distance will be dropped. However, this is due to be replaced by the condition that catering and other entertainment venues check their customer’s coronavirus pass (proof of recovery, vaccination, negative test) at the entrance.

From the minute these plans were leaked, there’s been backlash from the catering industry. Owners have cited concerns over the additional time pressure that checking each guest’s coronavirus pass would add, and the fact that they don’t want to exclude people, RTL Nieuws reports.

Loyalty and financial implications

Tanita van Ham, the owner of Grand Café de Polderei in Anna Paulowna, says that she doesn’t want to turn away guests who don’t have their coronavirus pass because it doesn’t feel good.

She adds that “They are our regular guests, who have always supported us during the coronavirus crisis, who came to pick up food when we were not allowed to open. And I should refuse them access?” This is a dilemma. 🤔

Of course money talks, and there are also financial considerations. 🤑 According to Van Ham, “Some of our regular guests have not been vaccinated, but they bring in a few hundred euros per week.” She says that “We just can’t afford to lose that money.”

Other plans to ignore the rules

According to a Google Doc that’s floating around on social media, more than 600 restaurants and cafés also intend not to check people’s coronavirus passes — eek!

There’s even a new platform where establishments that will flout the government’s rule by not checking people’s coronavirus pass can register. The Keuze Vrij Bij Mij platform says that so far more than 200 catering and tourism venues have registered.

Will they be fined?

According to RTL Nieuws, most major cities will start to do random spot checks for compliance in the near future. However, the likelihood that these cafés will be fined is not very high for the time being.  

READ MORE | Simply not possible: Amsterdam will not ask everyone for corona pass, mayor confirms

What are your thoughts on cafés ignoring the regulations and not checking people’s coronavirus passes? Tell us in the comments below!

Feature Image: photoweges/Depositphotos

Say what? The Dutch are getting shorter!

Christine Stein Hededam 🇩🇰
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Say what? The Dutch are getting shorter!

Arriving in the Netherlands as an international can feel as if you’ve touched down in a land of giants 🏰 — and no wonder because, for years, Dutchies have proudly held the title of the tallest people in the world.

But could that be changing? According to a new report by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) men born after 2001 are one centimetre shorter than those born in 1980. Women are 1,4 centimetres shorter! 😱

READ MORE | Being short in the Netherlands: a (short) short person’s guide

Growth stagnated after the 80s generation

Until the 80s, Dutchies were growing taller with every generation.

In the 50 year period from 1930-1980, men grew an average of 8,3 centimetres and women 5,3 centimetres. That led to the average height for the generation born in 1980 being 183,9 centimetres for men and 170,7 centimetres for women.

However, the new report shows that height has stagnated since that golden era of techno-pop and big hair.

What’s caused the decrease in height?

But why did height stagnate with the generations born after the early 80s?

The decrease is partly due to new Dutchies influencing the average height. The past few decades have seen an increase in the immigration of people from countries with generally shorter populations, this affects the statistics.

Nevertheless, growth also stagnated in generations whose parents and grandparents who were born in the Netherlands.

Gert Stulp, researcher of body height at the University of Groningen told de Volkskrant that the stagnation in Dutchies heights is not unique. Also in the US, the average height is decreasing.

While there are many factors affecting a person’s height, Stulp highlights that the stagnation may be caused by people eating less varied and consuming more oily foods. 😅

Are the Dutch still the tallest in the world?

Despite a decrease in average height, Dutchies are still topping the charts when it comes to height. 🥇

In 2020, more than one in five men in the Netherlands reported to be more than 190 centimetres tall and 7% were over 195 centimetres.

Dutch women also continue to reach above female populations in the rest of the world with nearly one in 10 girls born around the 80s measuring 180 centimetres —although that number is in decline.

READ MORE | Why are the Dutch so tall? Four possible answers

Who’s the tallest of them all? Frisians!

According to CBS, there continues to be “a remarkably large difference in height between people from the north and south of the Netherlands.”

Generally speaking, the average Frisian tends to be more than three centimetres taller than say the average person from Limburg. 😳

What are your thoughts on these findings? Tell us in the comments below!

Feature Image: serezniy/Depositphotos

Dutch minister of foreign affairs steps down due to handling of Afghanistan evacuations

Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
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Dutch minister of foreign affairs steps down due to handling of Afghanistan evacuations

The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sigrid Kaag, has decided to step down from her position due to heavy criticism of the Netherlands’ response to the fall of the Afghan city of Kabul.

Earlier this week, the NOS reported that the Dutch government had been receiving pleas to begin evacuation efforts from the Afghan city of Kabul since March 2020.

Dutch embassy staff in Afghanistan made pleas for the government to begin an evacuation plan as it became clear that the Taliban were advancing on the city.

READ MORE | Dutch still stranded in Afghanistan: government is “seriously concerned”

However, it was not until two days before the fall of the city that the Dutch government began to decide on when the embassy employees and their families would be evacuated.

As of last week, it was reported that approximately 22 interpreters and their families were left behind in Afghanistan by the end of evacuation efforts.

Responsible for this

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kaag is seen as ultimately responsible for the Dutch response to the situation. As a result, a motion to censure Kaag was passed last night by the House of Representatives. After this, she immediately offered her resignation from the role.

Kaag, who is also the leader of D66 (Democrats 66) has been praised by many political parties within the House of Representatives for her decision. With Groenlinks leader, Jesse Klaver saying “Sigrid Kaag takes her responsibility for the Dutch actions in Afghanistan with her head held high”, the NOS reports.

Follow DutchReview on Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Feature Image: Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken/Wikimedia Commons/CC2.0

Vaccination rates rise significantly this week — but Netherlands remains high-risk on EU map

Farah Al Mazouni 🇸🇾 🇺🇸
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Vaccination rates rise significantly this week — but Netherlands remains high-risk on EU map

The Dutch Municipal Health Service (GGD) saw a sharp rise in vaccination appointments this week. However, this isn’t enough to shift the Netherlands’ red status on the EU’s coronavirus map this week.

The GGD has reported that about 13,000 vaccination appointments were made on Monday, and more than 15,500 on Tuesday. This is a striking rise when compared to the daily average of 8,000 from last week.

However, as of its last update on Tuesday — all twelve Dutch provinces are now categorised as red-risk (the second-highest level.) This is a slight improvement, however, as the country also had sprinkles of dark red in some provinces last week.

With the number of cases in decline, and the new relaxations announced, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM) is yet to confirm whether this increase is related to the recent announcement that a corona pass will be needed before entry to a number of catering and entertainment events. 

Good progress

Declining coronavirus cases, more vaccination appointments, that’s all positive news, right? Well, we can look at an example from our neighbours in France who went through a similar experience of rising vaccination rates in July after their government announced the use of the corona pass — so hopefully, we’ll follow in their footsteps and receive a code yellow classification soon. 🤞

While the number of coronavirus cases is currently decreasing almost everywhere in the Netherlands, with Friesland recording the highest percentage in the country, the decrease is not yet enough for a further reduction in warning levels on the map of Europe.

It is key to keep an eye on that map regardless of local relaxations as it forecasts any changes in EU travel policies when it comes to travelling from and to the Netherlands. 🛂

What do you think of the latest coronavirus developments? Tell us in the comments below!

Feature Image: melis82/Depositphotos

Amsterdam is the second-best city in the world (say what?)

Nicole Ogden 🇹🇭 🇺🇸
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6
Amsterdam is the second-best city in the world (say what?)

The travel magazine Time Out ranked Amsterdam as the second-best city in the world! 🥳 Amsterdammers and others praised their city for its sustainability efforts, green space, as well as food (questionable!) and culture.

Global magazine Time Out surveyed 27,000 people from cities like Melbourne, Madrid, Chicago, etc. and Amsterdam came shining through as the second-best city in the world! 🌍

The only city outranking Amsterdam is San Francisco — but who wants to live somewhere with that many hills anyway? 

Points for environmental policies 

Amsterdam has topped other cities for their environmental policies, according to Schroders European Sustainable Cities. The city aims to cut down on carbon emissions, convert to green energy, and improve the air quality. 

Some ways that Amsterdammers keep things clean are by biking everywhere, having electric buses, and more! 

Doughnut model and sustainable living

One of the things that Time Out noted was Amsterdam’s “doughnut model.” 🍩 Also known as a circular economy, the process involves re-using raw and other materials over and over again to avoid waste. 

Amsterdam is also known for its sustainable fashion practices, buildings and zero-waste lifestyle. The city has low-waste restaurants and apps for all of your food cravings, for instance.

Is Amsterdam really that good to live in?

While we are super happy that the Dutch city is considered one of the best to live in, it might not be the best for our wallets. 💸 There are ever-increasing housing prices, expensive public transport, and not so cheap restaurants. 

READ MORE | The cost of living in Amsterdam: all you need to know

Then there’s also the mass tourism and of course the gloomy weather that might not be everyone’s cup of tea. And if you’re not a fan of how weed smells, well, better get used to it in Amsterdam. 🌿

But complaining and bragging about their city was always an Amsterdam thing anyway. 😉

What do you think about Amsterdam being the second-best city in the world? Tell us your thoughts in the comments! 

Feature Image: Ethan Hu/Unsplash

Simply not possible: Amsterdam will not ask everyone for corona pass, mayor confirms

Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
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Simply not possible: Amsterdam will not ask everyone for corona pass, mayor confirms

As of September 25, patrons of bars and restaurants will be asked to show a corona pass before entering catering establishments. However, the city of Amsterdam will not be checking each and every single one.

Why? Because it is simply not possible.

Speaking to the city council yesterday, the mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema said that the municipality will only be asking for corona passes in cases of “excesses.”

What does this mean?

According to the NOS, patrons of these establishments will only be asked to show their corona pass in cases where, for example, a large number of people remain in a café after closing time.

This also means that catering establishments will not have to worry about facing a fine if they fail to ask every patron for a pass.

READ MORE | It’s not our job: Dutch hospitality sector against asking for QR codes or negative tests

The decision was made due to a lack of police officers and BOAs (special investigating officers) in the city.

What are your thoughts on Amsterdam’s decision? Tell us in the comments below!

Feature Image: vverve/Depositphotos

Updated Dutch travel advice: no more quarantine for some, tighter restrictions for others

Farah Al Mazouni 🇸🇾 🇺🇸
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Updated Dutch travel advice: no more quarantine for some, tighter restrictions for others

With the recent coronavirus relaxations in the Netherlands, it was only a matter of time before the Dutch travel sector followed suit — September 22 is the date to look out for.

The main relaxation news involves vaccinated travellers from the United States, the United Kingdom, and other very high-risk areas. From September 22, travellers from these countries will no longer have to self-quarantine on arrival in the Netherlands as long as they have valid proof of vaccinations.

On the other hand, a group of countries have had their travel advice updated  — so if you’re planning a trip to the Netherlands, always make sure you’re up to date with the latest travel checklists issued by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs ⚠

Latest travel restrictions

Let’s start with Romania which has just been updated to a high-risk area and changed from green to yellow. As of September 18, travellers to the Netherlands from Romania must present a vaccination certificate, recovery certificate, or negative test certificate as part of their travel requirements.

The rules for travellers from Albania, Armenia, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, and Japan have also changed. These countries have been added to the European Union’s list of high-risk areas — so, travellers from this list will need a coronavirus certificate starting tomorrow.

The Dutch travel advice for Uruguay is set to be necessary trips only. Travellers to the Netherlands from this country will need a coronavirus certificate from Saturday.

Travelling from Kazakhstan, Serbia, Azerbaijan, or Dominica? Please note that you’re obliged to show a corona certificate and self-quarantine for ten days — we hope you have some good books to read.

As of Saturday, similar travel measures will apply to Anguilla and the Palestinian Territories, which have been designated earlier today as very high-risk areas.


Follow DutchReview on Facebook and Instagram for the latest travel updates!

Feature Image: svitlanahulko85.gmail.com/Depositphotos

New Dutch income figures show highest purchasing power growth in four years

Christine Stein Hededam 🇩🇰
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New Dutch income figures show highest purchasing power growth in four years

Many of us look back at 2020 and want to simply erase the whole year from our calendars. However, some good things did happen during that dreaded year of lockdown. (Yes, we said it!).

Namely, then the purchasing power in the Netherlands grew by 2,2% on average in 2020! This is shown in a new analysis of the incomes of Dutch households and individuals by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

A growth of 2,2% is the biggest increase since 2016. 🤑

Why is that good news?

Even if you aren’t huge into economics (fair enough!), you probably care about purchasing power because, essentially, growth in purchasing power means you can buy more stuff for the money you have — leuk!

Moreover, those who experienced the largest growth in purchasing power in 2020 were employees meaning — likely — you! On average, employees’ purchasing power grew by 4,3%.

“In 2020, the #purchasingpower grew with 2,2% on average, the highest growth since 2016. For employees, the purchasing power increased the most, with 4,3%.”

Increase in real wage development

An individual’s purchasing power is affected by both external factors and personal circumstances.

External factors include developments in collectively negotiated wages, inflation, and government policy. In 2020, the extraordinary growth in purchasing power was mainly driven by a 1,6% increase in real wage development.

Now, you might think “that’s odd, how did wages increase in 2020 when everything shut down?” Although the coronavirus crisis came to the Netherlands in 2020, many collective labour agreements were made before the crisis began — and were valid for the whole year. So, even though the economy took a beating, the collective labour agreement wage increase still amounted to 2,9%.

However, inflation of 1,3% somewhat offset this increase. 😅

Government policy

The other external factor that contributed to the positive development of purchasing power was Dutch government policy. In fact, CBS estimates that this contributed almost 1% to the overall increase.

Amongst others, the increases in general tax credit and the introduction of a two-disk income tax system contributed to the positive impact of the government’s fiscal policy.

The effect of personal circumstances were…not so great

We all had a rough year in 2020 so perhaps it comes as no surprise that changes to peoples’ personal circumstances were the one thing that depressed purchasing power. 😔

Purchasing power is namely affected by things such as unemployment or a temporary drop in business activity. With plenty of that happening in 2020, personal circumstances lowered purchasing power by -0,3%.

Luckily, businesses are now open again!

What do you think will happen to purchasing power in 2021? Tell us in the comments below!

Feature Image: harrybeugelink@gmail.com/Depositphotos

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