There will be a mandatory quarantine for people who seem to be possibly infected with coronavirus based on a source and contact investigation, the Minister for Health, Hugo de Jonge, has announced to parliament. 

This rule will apply to people who may not have (yet) tested positive for coronavirus, but who have had close contact with someone who is confirmed to have the virus. This new rule has arisen because people are not cooperating with source and contact investigations by the GGD.

At the moment, people who have had close contact with a coronavirus patient are only urgently requested (but not required) to quarantine. Currently, the quarantine period is 14 days, but based on feedback from RIVM Director Jaap van Dissel, that could potentially be shortened soon to 10 days.

The tightening of quarantine rules will hopefully help the Netherlands avoid a second wave, Minister de Jonge says to NOS. “In recent weeks we have heard from the GGDs that people are not cooperating properly with the source and contact investigation. This is our shoring-up strategy to prevent us from having a second wave.”

This rule will come into effect halfway through next week. The regional security councils are pleased with the move. “We asked for it ourselves. We support this,” says Chairman Hubert Bruls of the Security Council. Enforcing the quarantine will fall to the regional security councils, and is already permitted under the Public Health Act.

Quarantine for travellers from code-orange zones and mandatory cooperation with GGD still in the works

Minister de Jonge also hopes to make quarantine mandatory for travellers returning from a code-orange travel zone. However, this particular mandatory quarantine would require a legislative amendment, so we probably won’t see this happening next week.

De Jonge also wants to make it punishable to not cooperate with the GGD’s source and contact investigations. “Cooperation could be enforced by imposing an order subject to penalty. This would not be an alternative to the quarantine measure, but an additional tool to improve cooperation in both source and contact investigation and quarantine.” The punishment for not complying still needs to be worked out by the Public Prosecution Service.

There will be a debate in the House of Representatives today on the government’s response to coronavirus. One potential critique will be the question of whether the security councils and police officers really have enough resources to actually enforce a mandatory quarantine.

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This week the RIVM has reported 4036 new coronavirus cases, another huge increase on last week’s 2588 infections.

There have been nine deaths from coronavirus this week, in comparison to six last week. However, the number of hospitalisations of coronavirus patients has decreased since last week, dropping to 38 this week from last week’s 44.

Another change since last week is that the percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive has increased to 3.5%. Last week, this number was only last week’s 2.3%

RIVM director Jaap van Dissel briefed the Dutch Cabinet this morning on how the coronavirus situation in the Netherlands. He notes that most people who are getting coronavirus at the moment only have mild complaints, which makes the virus more difficult to track and trace.

Dutch town has a positive coronavirus test rate six times the national average

The city of Bergen op Zoom in North Brabant had over 14% of coronavirus tests from the past week return positive, which far exceeds the national average of 2.3%. The relatively high numbers may be due to the city’s location near the Belgian border, making it a popular tourist destination. Approximately half of the 139 infections in Bergen op Zoom are people from the Moroccan-Dutch community, so the outbreak has also been linked to Eid-ul-Adha Muslim holiday celebrations.

Amsterdam and Rotterdam make face masks in busy areas compulsory

Two municipalities, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, have made face masks compulsory in specific busy areas. The measure applies only to people aged 13 and above. During the weekends, there’ll be a team of enforcers reminding people to wear a mask and giving them one if need be. Those who do not respect the rules risk a fine of €95.

Press conference: Rutte puts Netherlands on notice, gives municipalities more power

Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Minister of Health Hugo de Jonge held a press conference after Dutch coronavirus infections soared in recent weeks. Rutte explained that avoiding a second lockdown means people need to take the precautions seriously, and has given more power to municipalities to handle the issue locally.

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The North Brabant city of Bergen op Zoom has had more than 14% of coronavirus tests from the past week return positive. The national average is 2.3%, according to RIVM. 

The tests in the city were conducted between August 1-9. “The figures are substantial given the national average,” Bergen op Zoom Mayor, Frank Petter, told NOS. The national average is expected to increase to around 3.5% this week.

Why is the infection rate so high?

Bergen op Zoom sits close to the Belgian border, resulting in an influx of day-trippers looking to shop. “I would like to say to the Belgians: you are more than welcome to shop or have a bite to eat, but not now,” says Petter.

The mayor will discuss a potential face mask requirement on Thursday. The town is also implementing extra checks on catering, supermarkets, and garden centres in the near future.

Outbreak at a mosque

Additionally, one test street next to El-Feth mosque recorded 53 positive infections out of 452 total tests — an infection rate of almost 12%. Approximately half of the 139 infections in Bergen op Zoom are people from the Moroccan-Dutch community.

Petter then makes a link between the Eid-ul-Adha Muslim holiday celebrations and the mosque. Najib el Allouchi, of the El-Feth mosque, told Omroep Brabant the test results were “a wake-up call.”

“Not just for us, but for the whole city. We shouldn’t think that Corona is on vacation,” he says.

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Emptying water supplies could lead to dry taps in parts of the Netherlands after the heat has put a strain on local water reservoirs.

As temperatures spiked and tourists flooded Dutch cities this past weekend, up to 50% more drinking water was consumed in the Netherlands than usual. Vitens, one of the largest Dutch suppliers of water, told RTL Nieuws that northern reservoirs are emptying too quickly and if precautions are not taken, many taps could run dry.

“If the water continues to empty too quickly, there will be no other option but to reduce the pressure in the pipes. In some places this may mean that no more water comes out of the tap,” says a Vitens spokesperson.

Which areas will be affected?

Vitens supplies water to 5.8 million households in the Flevoland, Utrecht, Overijssel, Gelderland and Friesland areas, all of which may be affected. The provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel are most at risk, as these areas are susceptible to drought and low ground water levels.

1Limburg similarly reported water shortages in the Limburg area this weekend. Waterleidingmaatschappij Limburg (WML) recorded increased water consumption and called for people in the area to use less water. Consumption has since decreased, but with tropical days still ahead, they’re urging customers to continue with caution.

Save water

Vitens is telling customers to use water sparingly. They have asked for people to stop watering their gardens, filling swimming pools and washing their cars during this time. Additional precautions include taking shorter showers and only using the washing machine at night.

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On Sunday, a devastating and unprecedented day, four people drowned off the Dutch coast. Emergency responders were able to resuscitate the swimmers but they did not survive. 

Sunday was a very busy day for the rescue brigade. In total, 120 people were rescued from the sea, including four who ultimately did not survive. “It is a really black day, really bad. A sad day, I have never experienced it that extreme,” a spokesperson for Kennemerland Safety Region told Hart van Nederland.

Four lives lost

The first of the victims, a 28-year-old man, was taken out of the water in the early afternoon on Sunday at Zuiderstrand. He was rescued and resuscitated but died on the way to the hospital.

Several hours later, another man, 24, was pulled from the water. He too was resuscitated but did not make it to the hospital.

Later in the evening, another person was reported to have died, taken out of the water at Zandvoort. He was reported by bystanders to have been between 14 and 16 years old, reports Hart van Nederland.

Around 8:30 pm, yet another person was rescued from the water at Wijk aan Zee. As with the others, emergency services worked to resuscitate the victim, but their efforts were of no avail. 

Bij #StrandZuid in #DenHaag is vanmiddag rond 13:00 uur een persoon uit het water gered en gereanimeerd. Hij is naar het ziekenhuis vervoerd, maar helaas toch overleden. We wensen de betrokkenen veel sterkte. @RBDenHaag

— Politie Den Haag eo (@POL_DenHaag) August 9, 2020

The red flag has been raised

Across the entire Dutch coast, the red flag has been raised — swimming is strongly discouraged due to dangerous currents. An NL alert message was sent, reading,  “Enter the water up to knee height, follow directions from the rescue brigade and emergency services.” 

Langs de hele #kust van #Noord-Holland is de #rode vlag gehesen en is een #NL-Alert verzonden ivm gevaarlijke stromingen. Ga maximaal tot kniehoogte het water in. Volg aanwijzingen van reddingsbrigade en hulpdiensten op!

— Veiligheidsregio NHN (@vrnhn) August 9, 2020

A rescue brigade spokesperson said that the combination of offshore wind and currents in the sea creates a “very treacherous” situation. A busy day on the beach only complicated matters. “Emergency workers can barely drive vehicles on the beach,” a spokesperson told NOS. 

The red flag is not often raised, but the past week was exceptional. A few days ago it was raised on the Zuiderstrand as well. This also follows last week’s drowning of a 37-year-old Polish man who rescued three children from the water at Juliandorp.

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