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UK students lose out: Erasmus cancelled after Brexit deal sealed

Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺
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UK students lose out: Erasmus cancelled after Brexit deal sealed

A disappointing Christmas present for many British students to unwrap: Erasmus exchanges for students from the United Kingdom will no longer be possible.

The British government and European Union announced the cancellation of the reciprocal program today after failing to agree on the cost of an Erasmus membership. The UK decided not to participate in the program instead of continuing negotiations further.

It’s a harsh blow for the 15,000 British students who go on a student exchange to EU Member States each year. It’s also a hit for residents of the EU: the UK was — up until last year — the most-chosen Erasmus destination for European students.

Cultural vandalism

In response, Scottish Prime Minister and Brexit critic Nicola Sturgeon called the failure to reach a deal “cultural vandalism”. She argues that it will deprive young people of opportunities.

The Erasmus program is one of the most popular study abroad programs since conceived in 1987. The program encourages students to undertake one to two semesters of study or an internship in a different EU Member State. Erasmus was, ironically, formulated in Sussex in the UK.

A new program

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson previously promised that the UK would remain part of the Erasmus program, but has since backtracked. He claims that the UK would be at a financial disadvantage if it remained part of the program because more European students would want to study in the UK than vice versa.

The British prime minister is now proposing a program of his own, although the details are unclear. However, Johnson has promised that it will have agreements with “the best universities in the world.”

Did you complete an Erasmus exchange? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!

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Mutated and highly-infectious COVID-19 strain likely circulating in Netherlands: RIVM

Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺
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0
Mutated and highly-infectious COVID-19 strain likely circulating in Netherlands: RIVM

Attempts to stop the new coronavirus mutation found in the United Kingdom have not been successful, believe the RIVM. 

The Netherlands had already detected two cases of the more-contagious variant back in early-December. However, the country imposed stricter flight restrictions on countries where the variant has run rampant in an attempt to avoid the spread.

Chantal Reusken, chief virologist at the RIVM, told the NOS that “several signals” indicate that the mutated disease has probably already spread across the Netherlands. She believes the new variant will appear in Dutch test samples within the next few days.

Possibly more infections

“Evidence is piling up that this variant infects people more easily,” Reusken told the NOS. “It is expected that, just like in the United Kingdom, this variant will eventually become the dominant strain in the Netherlands.”

This is bad news for the country. The new variant is not thought to be more deadly, but the Netherlands is already under the pump dealing with the original strain of the virus.

READ MORE | Shocking jump in weekly infections across the Netherlands

Detected in December

In the previous two detections of the mutated strain in the Netherlands, the two infected people had not had contact with each other and were infected ten days apart. Neither had travelled or been in the UK. They were both from Amsterdam.

This data backs up Reusken’s theory that the mutated virus is already circulating in the Netherlands. “Amsterdam is a busy region, so it’s a bad sign that it has shown up there.”

However, she doesn’t think the strain has become dominant in the Netherlands yet. “Then we would have seen it more often.” Reusken believes that the quick increase in infections since last month isn’t due to the mutated virus.

The new dominant Dutch strain?

Evidence that this more-contagious variant could become dominant in the Netherlands is increasing. Frits Rosendaal, epidemiologist at the LUMC, told the NOS that a higher contagion rate could make it take longer for the Netherlands to get the pandemic under control.

READ NEXT | All plane passengers to the Netherlands must have negative COVID-19 test from Tuesday

“You will have to take the same measures that we are already taking, only more people will have to stick to it to reduce the number of infections,” he said. “What else can you do in the Netherlands? We only have a curfew left.”

RIVM virologist Reusken agrees. She doesn’t think any of the current measures will change. “If the variant is actually more contagious, you could say that the need to comply with the measures will only increase.”

Follow DutchReview on Facebook to stay up-to-date with coronavirus news in the Netherlands.

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All plane passengers to the Netherlands must have negative COVID-19 test from Tuesday

Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺
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0
All plane passengers to the Netherlands must have negative COVID-19 test from Tuesday

All travellers flying from an orange or red risk area abroad to the Netherlands must submit a negative coronavirus test from Tuesday, December 29. 

Previously, only non-EU residents and travellers from South Africa and the UK were required to provide proof of a negative test.

However, the Dutch government has decided to expand the requirement to include everyone flying to the Netherlands: EU, non-EU, and including Dutch passport-holders.

Where does this apply?

If your next question is: “where is an orange or red risk area?” — well that’s an easy one to answer. Everywhere.

Every single country in the world is currently high-risk, according to the Dutch government. The majority of countries are orange, indicating “only necessary travel.”

Dutch travel advice map, as of December 17, 2020. Remember when most of the world was green-coloured? Image: Nederland Wereldwijd/Kingdom of the Netherlands

What do I need to know about the test?

If you are returning to the Netherlands via aeroplane after Tuesday, December 29, you should know:

  • you must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test before boarding.
  • the test cannot be more than 72 hours old upon arrival to the Netherlands.
  • these requirements apply no matter your passport country, or where you are flying from.

The Dutch government urgently advises you to quarantine for 10 days when you return to the Netherlands, even if you have a negative test result.

And if you’re travelling to the Netherlands via train, car, or bus, stay tuned — the government is considering tightening restrictions for people arriving in the country via these methods.

Follow DutchReview on Facebook to stay up-to-date with all the news in the Netherlands
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Here’s how to bring in the New Year in the Netherlands 2020-2021: lockdown edition

Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺
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0
Here’s how to bring in the New Year in the Netherlands 2020-2021: lockdown edition

What a year, DutchReviewers!

We went from hearing reports of a mystery virus in China to wearing mouth masks, washing our hands raw, being banned from seeing friends and family or playing sports, dealing with border closures, and worrying about the world degrading into a post-apocalyptic wonderland.

(Of course, the working from home in our undies part was pretty good.)

Needless to say, we’re all ready to bid goodbye to 2020, year of coronavirus, and welcome in 2021, year of the coronavirus vaccine! (We hope).

How can you bring in the New Year in the Netherlands? Check out our tips below!

But first: what’s changed this New Year’s?

Here’s the fun part: the Netherlands, home of bureaucracy and a place where the residents utter “doe normaal” at the slightest hint of oddness goes crazy on New Year’s Eve.

We like to think that New Year’s is the Dutch equivalent of The Purge — Dutchies go wild, then settle in for a normaal nieuwjaar.

Fireworks: a New Year’s celebration with a bang

Fireworks are normal on New Years, right? Wheweee, you haven’t seen the Netherlands. The Dutch take fireworks to a downright mad level. In previous years, fireworks were completely legal to purchase all through December — from tiny sparklers, right up to giant, fiery rockets.

Children set them off, teenagers set them off, adults set them off, everywhere. Nowhere is safe. People sitting at home literally have to tape their door’s mail slot shut to stop maniacs from pushing fireworks into their homes. Some people lose fingers. Other people die.

No, we’re not kidding — this is real.

But this year, the Dutch government managed to push through a fireworks ban, and extra police will be on the streets looking for people flouting the rules. We’ll see if that stops them (we doubt it!).

Bonfires: a spark put out

Meanwhile, massive bonfires at Scheveningen have been cancelled to avoid the large crowds that they’ll inevitably attract. That’s not a bad idea, considering two years ago the bonfires morphed into giant fire tornados.

Nude swim: shrunk into non-existence

Wearing your birthday suit for a New Year’s dive in the North Sea, while wearing an orange hat — what is up with these Dutchies? Sadly, this bare-flesh event won’t be going ahead this year due to — wait for it — coronavirus. What a surprise!

What to do for New Year’s 2020-2021 in the Netherlands

So without fireworks, bonfires, festivals, and giant parties, how can you ring in the New Year? Here are just a few ideas:

Watch the fireworks from your window

“But you said fireworks are illegal!”

True, but that’s not going to stop the Dutchies. Grab the popcorn and stake out a good spot, because the Netherlands is going to get lit.

Get some baby fireworks

If you really want to satisfy the pyromaniac inside, sparklers and other small fireworks are still allowed. The only issue is where to buy them after the Netherlands went into hard lockdown.

Tune in for a free festival

Maybe we can’t go to a festival and rub our sweaty bodies on strangers’ sweaty bodies, but we can do all that other festival stuff from the comfort of our own home with GoodBye2020.nl — a free music festival streamed directly to your home with tons of Dutch artists!

Eat oliebollen and appelflappen

Oliebollen is the typical Dutch New Year’s food but, let’s face it, we can be convinced to eat an oily ball of dough at any time of the year.

Video call with your fam or friends

Yep, we miss them too (we mean our fam and friends, of course). Give your loved ones a call and wish them a “gelukkig nieuwjaar!” Extra points if they’re from a different time zone and already asleep.

Google “cornflakes”. Go on

When in the Netherlands, do as the Netherlands do. “Why were cornflakes invented” was the most Googled word in the Netherlands this year, so go ahead and see what all the fuss is about.

Tell yourself that THIS year you’ll actually learn Dutch

Yeah, yeah. We’ve heard it before. But this year? This is the one, for sure.

Stalk your friends on social media to remind yourself that they are real

As an Australian, I’m not looking forward to seeing pictures of the parties that will happen on my COVID-free island. But I’ll be damned if I’m not scrolling through social media anyway.

Make a real Dutch recipe

Feeling a little snackie? We are in the Netherlands after all. Go ahead and make some erwten soup or a few other delicious Dutch snacks. The diet starts tomorrow!

What will you be doing on New Year’s Eve in the Netherlands? Tell us in the comments below!

Feature Image: cottonbro/Pexels

A historical artefact: Dutch fire brigade search water for protestor’s pan

Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
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0
A historical artefact: Dutch fire brigade search water for protestor’s pan

Members of the Dutch fire brigade spent yesterday afternoon in the Hofvijver searching the water for a cooking pan. Why, you may ask? Because the pan is now considered a piece of history. 

During last week’s speech by Mark Rutte in the torentje, loud whistling and bangs could be heard from outside. These noises came from a small group of protestors outside the building, who were banging pots and pans together. The group were demonstrating against the implementation of strict lockdown measures in the Netherlands.

One protestor was filmed dropping his pan into the Hofvijver, the small lake outside the government buildings, and it’s now wanted for a museum exhibit about coronavirus in the Netherlands.

An exhibition piece

The Hague Historical Museum would like to include the protestor’s pan in an exhibition about the coronavirus, Omroep West writes. A spokesperson for the museum, Martijn van Oostroom, told the news site that the fire brigade “responded very positively” to the museum’s request.

Van Oostroom explained that the museum wants to tell the story of the pan — and even the protestor. “We want to show the piece of history that is now being written about the pandemic in the exhibition. That is why we would like to add the pan, preferably with the story of the demonstrator.”

A lost artefact

Unfortunately, the fire brigade were unable to locate the pan. Van Oostroom speculates that the pan was taken out of the water later in the night. “Perhaps the owner himself later removed it from the Hofvijver, because it is not deep and the water is clear, so that is easy.”

If this is the case, the museum are appealing to the pan owner to grant them the pan for their exhibition, which they hope to open to the public when the time is right.

Well, do you know the whereabouts of this pot? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

Feature Image: Sebastiaan Barel/Twitter

Albert Heijn employee stabbed following rivalry between rap gangs

Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
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0
Albert Heijn employee stabbed following rivalry between rap gangs

An Albert Heijn employee in Amsterdam had to be rushed to hospital after being stabbed in the neck by a man he got in an argument with in the store. The man fled the scene of the stabbing and police are still on the search for him. 

The reason behind the stabbing was initially uncertain, with eyewitnesses telling news sources that it was a row over the wearing of face masks. Police, however, doubted this to be the reason behind the stabbing.

“In all the conversations I have had with my colleagues, including those on the spot, the word mondkapje (mouth mask) has never been mentioned,” a policeman told the NOS.

Drill rap

However, it later surfaced that the motivation behind the stabbing was a long-running quarrel between different drillrap groups in the city.

Drillrap is a musical genre that originated from Chicago and England. Fans of the music sometimes form gangs and make videos in which they stand in a certain area of a city and show that they are carrying knives.

In their videos, the gangs often challenge each other and sometimes these challenges come to fruition when one gang member stabs a member of an opposing gang.

The victim is believed to be a member of the drillrap group “Z42” from the K-neighborhood in the Bijlmer and the perpetrator is said to belong to a group called “FOG’s Rivals”, RTL Nieuws reports. Police are still looking for him.


Friends of the victim say the attack was unfair as he could not defend himself without his knife. On social media, reports of the stabbing are being shared with the caption “fogwinning.”

Have you heard of drillrap before? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Feature Image: Dutchmen Photography/Shutterstock.com

Groningen receives funding for the Netherlands’ first hyperloop speed train

Emily Burger
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0
Groningen receives funding for the Netherlands’ first hyperloop speed train

The construction of a hyperloop test track near Groningen can once again proceed thanks to a government injection of 4.5 million euros from the Ministries of Infrastructure and Economic Affairs.

The hyperloop is a new train technology in which the train is enclosed in a vacuum tube, allowing it to travel at enormous speeds. Several companies around the world are developing the technology, and they hope to prove that it is a safe and economically viable means of transport in the next two or three years, reports NOS.

Infrastructure expected to be ready in 2022

Hardt Hyperloop, a company founded by students from TU Delft, are one of which that will be receiving government funding. They are responsible for building the three-kilometre-long test track near Groningen, of which the total costs are 30 million euros.

They are aiming to complete all facilities and infrastructure for the test track by 2022. Companies Tata Steel, Vattenfall, IHC, Schiphol and construction company BAM are involved in the project. The province of Groningen has also contributed three million euros.

What do you make of this new project? Tell us in the comments below.

Feature Image: Hardt Hyperloop

EU citizens stuck in the UK and South Africa can now return with a negative test

Emily Burger
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1
EU citizens stuck in the UK and South Africa can now return with a negative test

As of today, Dutch citizens and people from other European countries can fly from the UK and South Africa back to the Netherlands, provided they show a negative coronavirus test result.

But the urgent advice for these travelers is to go into a ten day quarantine upon their return regardless of the negative result, reports RTL Nieuws.

Mutated virus

The decision to ban flights from the UK and South Africa was made on the basis of a mutated coronavirus being diagnosed in those countries. This strain of the mutation is reportedly 70% more contagious than previous strains of the virus.

Freight connections

Yesterday, the European Commission urged member states not to abandon the UK, but to reopen critical freight connections. Like the Netherlands, France is opening their borders to Great Britain again for freight traffic, so long as truck drivers have a negative test result from within the previous 72 hours.

Extending testing regulations

The Dutch cabinet want to implement a negative test requirement for more countries as soon as possible. Dutch and European citizens traveling from these countries would also have to provide a negative test result. Cabinet’s urgent advice to travel only if necessary remains in place.

New mutation in Amsterdam

Two confirmed cases of the new coronavirus strain have been found in Amsterdam now, one of which did not appear to have traveled to the UK. But Health Minister De Jonge is not too concerned about it. “We don’t think it will be very widespread, not comparable to the English situation,” he said.

Coronavirus figures broke records yesterday in Great Britain, with 36,804 new infections. The speed of the spread is likely due to the new virus strain.

Do you know people in the UK and South Africa waiting to return home? Tell us in the comments below.

Feature Image: Cor Gaasbeek/Pixabay

Fast-spreading variant of coronavirus found in two more people in Amsterdam

Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
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0
Fast-spreading variant of coronavirus found in two more people in Amsterdam

Two more people in the Netherlands have tested positive for the new, fast-spreading variant of coronavirus. Both cases were found in Amsterdam. One person had recently been to the United Kingdom, the other had not.

This is following Sunday’s news that the new variant of coronavirus was found in one person in the Netherlands. The Minister for Health, Hugo De Jonge, has told the NOS that an investigation will be launched into how the two people may have contracted the mutated strain.

Not like the United Kingdom

De Jonge believes that while the discovery of the new strain is worrying, the Netherlands will not have as serious an issue as the UK, the NOS reports. “We don’t think it will be very widespread, not comparable to the English situation.”

He believes that the current restrictions will help to prevent the continued spread of the mutated strain of coronavirus.

Entry ban

On Sunday, it was announced that the Netherlands would impose an entry ban on travellers from the United Kingdom. This meant that anyone looking to come to the Netherlands from the UK would not be allowed to enter the country, resident or not.

A similar measure was brought in for South African flight passengers on Monday. However, the government has now announced that EU citizens who are travelling from both the UK and South Africa and who can show a recent negative coronavirus test result, will now be allowed to enter the Netherlands.

No need for extra measures

De Jonge tells the NOS that he does not believe stricter measures are necessary for the Netherlands. Instead, he says that people need to continue to stick by the current measures.

“It’s not that easy to come up with something on top of that, the current set should be enough if we just stick to the rules very well.”

Jump in numbers

The new variant of coronavirus is not the Netherlands’ only problem. Coronavirus numbers have seen a significant jump this past week with 82,340 people testing positive for the virus. The previous week, that number stood at 58,412.

Do you think stricter measures are necessary? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Feature Image: DutchReview/Canva

Coronavirus update: shocking jump in weekly infections across the Netherlands

Emily Burger
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0
Coronavirus update: shocking jump in weekly infections across the Netherlands

Staggering coronavirus numbers were announced today by the RIVM, with 82,340 new infections in the past week. This is up from 58,412 the previous week.

Hospitalizations are also climbing, with 1,549 admitted this week compared to 1,326 from the week before. In addition to this, 287 people went into ICU this past week, compared to 230 the previous week.

The death rate is also increasing, as 472 passed away from the coronavirus this week, up from 398.

In case you missed anything, here’s a quick recap of the biggest corona stories from the week:

New strands and flight bans

A new strand of the coronavirus has been detected in some countries, resulting in travel bans from the UK and South Africa to the Netherlands this week. Repatriation flights will not be taking place, and Dutch citizens stuck abroad have been advised to find safe accommodation. For now, only medical personnel are exempt from the ban.

All planned Dutch hospital care temporarily suspended

Due to the overwhelming pressure on the health system, which is expected to peak in January, all planned hospital and independent clinic care will be suspended for the time being. This will free up medical workers to attend coronavirus patients in the hospitals. Additional ICU beds are being set up, and in the case that no Dutch beds are available, patients will be sent to Germany.

Dutch vaccination plan lagging behind

Vaccinations in Germany will begin the day after Christmas, but the Dutch will have to wait until January for their shots. But criticisms have arisen of the hesitant and slow decision making by the Dutch government. Hanco Jürgens of the German Institute of the University of Amsterdam commented that he believes the Netherlands will only really be ready for mass vaccination by March.

While the Netherlands lag behind their neighbours regarding vaccination strategies, systems for tracking vaccinations are also only expected to be ready around March. The Dutch government plan to link vaccinations to DigiD accounts. A downloadable vaccination certificate will be available for you once you log in. But, as mentioned, this system is only expected to be ready three months after the first vaccinations in the Netherlands.

Follow DutchReview on Facebook for more coronavirus updates.

Feature Image: Governor Tom Wolf/Wikimedia Commons/CC2.0

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