One of the biggest challenges posed by the coronavirus is the overwhelming of the healthcare system, especially the intensive care units.

Thankfully, the number of ICU cases is continuing to drop in the Netherlands, reports AD.

Return to a normal number of ICU occupancy

In the past 24 hours, there’s been a decrease of 34 coronavirus ICU cases. As of now, there are 507 coronavirus patients in ICU’s, as reported by the National Coordination Center for Patient Distribution (LCPS) this past Sunday.

492 Dutch coronavirus patients are in the Netherlands, while there are another 15 which were transferred in Germany. There’s also 418 non-coronavirus patients in ICU’s, 32 less than the day before. According to Ernst Kuipers, chairman of National Network of Acute Care, this means that the national level of ICU occupancy is back to normal levels.

No return to normal until a vaccine is developed

Minister of Health Hugo de Jonge said in a press conference next week that until a vaccine is developed, the coronavirus will continue to control our lives.

With this in mind, The Minister is working to structurally increase the capacity of ICU beds to 1700 and he is currently making agreements with hospitals in order to make that possible.

Under normal circumstances, there are around 800 to 900 patients in ICU’s, with the normal number of beds available being 1100.

In early-April during the peak of the crisis here in the Netherlands, there were 1,424 coronavirus ICU patients. As an emergency measure, that capacity was temporarily increased to 2,400 beds by bringing nurses and doctors from different departments.

As such Minister De Jonge urges for a structural increase of ICU’s, and promises to involve healthcare professionals in the development of coronavirus plans.

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Today is a big day for the Netherlands, as primary schools and most contact professions reopen. On March 13, Prime Minister Rutte announced the Netherlands’ “intelligent lockdown” and today, we’re seeing the start of a gradual relaxing of the measures.

Primary schools are reopening partially today, after almost two months of schooling at home. The vast majority of schools are opting for half-full classes (where students alternate days) rather than half-days, which would only increase the number of people out and about and on public transport.

Teething problems likely, Minister Slob says

Minister Slob has echoed the feelings of many teachers, telling NOS he had mixed feelings about the whole thing. “Eight weeks is a huge period … [and] this is not a normal situation.” He expects there to be a few teething problems as schools adapt to the new normal.

Contact professions reopen with reservation system

Hairdressers have also been shut for almost two months, and I think it’s safe to say that we’re all more than delighted that they’re reopening. Other contact professions can also reopen from today: that includes masseurs, driving instructors, and nail technicians, among others.

For most of these professions, customers are required to call to make an appointment, during which they will be asked if they have any coronavirus symptoms. They will also be asked to keep a 1.5m distance from other customers. In hairdressers, for example, that means that some stools will need to be kept free.

Libraries also open their doors once more

Finally, libraries are reopening today! For anyone who has been desperate for more reading material, this is excellent news. Just like contact professions, most libraries will be working with a reservation system at this time.

How do you feel about the rules being relaxed? Delighted to get a haircut at last, or worried about the future? Let us know in the comments below.

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The latest coronavirus figures have been released by the RIVM. Today a further 18 people have died from coronavirus, bringing the Dutch total to 5,440.

There have also been 22 more hospitalisations, meaning that 11,307 coronavirus patients have been hospitalised in the Netherlands since the beginning of the crisis. Finally, 245 more people tested positively, bringing the total number of infections to 42,627.

The RIVM reports that the city of Sneek has experienced a rise in coronavirus patients, because there is a cluster of patients in the asylum centre, causing the number to rise.

As always, these numbers may not be fully accurate, as the RIVM admits itself: deaths and hospitalisations are not always reported on the day they occur, and many people with mild symptoms will not be tested (though this will change from June 1 onwards).

On Sundays, we like to link you up to some non-coronavirus articles that we’ve published throughout the week, because let’s be honest: we could all do with a momentary break from all of this. This week, dive into the world of Surinamese food, check out our guesses for the future of tourism in Amsterdam, and enjoy our beautiful tulip photostory.

What is Surinamese food?

Answer: delicious. Surinamese food is a major part of the Netherlands’ culinary heritage (hello, colonialism). The cuisine is influenced by Asian, African, and European styles, making for a unique blend of flavours, which is probably why it has become so popular here in the Netherlands. In this article, we also run you through a couple of our favourite recipes.

Where does Amsterdam go from here?

The Dutch capital is usually flooded with tourists, but this year, of course, that’s not the case: and a lot of locals are loving it. They’re feeling like their city is finally theirs again, which begs the question: what direction should tourism to Amsterdam take in the future? And is it vital for the economy or not?

It’s tulip time!

We’re coming to the end of the tulip season in the Netherlands now, so we wanted to give one final shout out to this beautiful Dutch obsession. While visiting the tulip fields is not permitted this year, we invite you to traverse them virtually with this incredible photostory.

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The latest coronavirus figures for the Netherlands have been released by the RIVM. The number of hospitalizations remains lower than in recent weeks, with 58 new patients. A further 289 people have tested positive. 

Meanwhile, 63 more people have died from the virus, bringing the total Dutch death toll to 5,422. The total number of infections in the Netherlands is now 42,382.

However, the Netherlands has lowered the infection rate to the point where the government plans to begin relaxing measures from Monday. The RIVM says the most recent statistics prove the social distancing measures are working — but warn that due to a lack of testing in the Netherlands, the actual number of infections is far higher.

Dutchies warned not to travel to Zandvoort

The sunny weather has many Dutchies planning to have a beach day — but NS warns that’s not a great idea. The transport provider is seeing trains increasingly full.

“That has not yet led to incidents in recent hours, but we are concerned about the coming hours,” said an NS spokesperson.

The NS is concerned that as the trains fill, people will not comply with social distancing measures, such as keeping a sufficient distance. “Therefore, only travel to Zandvoort if it is absolutely necessary,” says the NS spokesperson.

Flower sales grow

A second-coming for the floriculture industry after coronavirus ground sales to an almost halt. While in March the industry had an indice of  -40 to -80% of sales, it is now between -10 and -20%.

Mother’s Day tomorrow (don’t forget!) has helped boost the numbers, said Marco van Zijverden, director of the Dutch Flower Group. “That is always the most important week of the year. We are not at the level of last year, but it has improved.”

New measures to come into effect from Monday

New measures were announced May 6 for the gradual reopening of the Netherlands. These include:

• Primary schools partially reopen with restrictions. Only 50% of students will attend at a time, with students rotating days at home and days at school.
• Day-care and special primary education can open fully.
• Contact professions, like orthodontists, hairdressers, and manicurists to be allowed again
• Libraries allowed to reopen.
• Sports that are played outside and are non-contact can be played again by anyone, including adults.
• Those with contact professions, teachers, and those who work with children can be tested.

From May 18:

• Testing opens to more groups, such as police officers and public transport operators.

From June 1

• Highschools can reopen with restrictions.
• Public transport will also resume its normal scheduling on June 1, but everyone will need to wear a face mask.
• Terraces will partially reopen, but clients will need to make a reservation.
• Museums can reopen, but only for prepurchased tickets — no walk-ins.
• Theatres and cinemas may reopen, but with certain conditions: only 30 people are allowed in the same room, and they must keep 1.5m from each other.
• Everyone should be able to get a test.

From July 1:

• Group activities with up to 100 people can take place. These include weddings, funerals, and so forth.
• Camping sites can reopen, and communal showers and toilets can be used again.

From September 1:

• All sports can happen and gyms can open again. The government is investigating whether gyms can be reopened sooner than this.
• Saunas and pools will also reopen.
• A decision will be made about whether festivals and other public gatherings can continue on this date.

Ongoing:

• No groups larger than three people in public spaces.
• Ensuring a minimum distance 1.5 metres away from other people where possible, including supermarkets.
• Encouraging people to work from home.
• Those in vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and immune-compromised people, to avoid gatherings and public transport.

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From 1 June facemasks will be mandatory in public transport. Of course, that’s a pretty sensible rule, but people have been wondering where they are supposed to find facemasks to wear. 

Now, we have an answer. Stores like Kruidvat, Etos and Hema will be stocking non-surgical facemasks from next week, in preparation for 1 June, when anyone travelling by bus, tram or train will need one.

No information about pricing yet

They each have different policies on how many masks you can buy, as well as what types they will be stocking. Universally, though, none of the stores have revealed the price they will be selling the masks at, though Het Parool reports that Kruidvat spokesperson José Mes says, “you can count on [Kruidvat] to price them as attractively as possible.”

Some stores will have limits on how many face masks you can buy

In Kruidvat, customers will be able to buy one box of facemasks at a time. A box contains 20 disposable masks. At Etos, the number of boxes you can buy is 3, and at HEMA, they’re just going to see how it goes before introducing a limit.

Washable masks to follow at Kruidvat

Kruidvat is beginning by selling disposable masks, but hopes to have washable cotton ones in stock later on in May. Bol.com will also start selling face masks from now on, following its temporary ban on the practice until this point.

You can follow DutchReview on Facebook for more coronavirus updates in the Netherlands. 

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The RIVM has released its daily count. 35 people have been hospitalised since yesterday, bringing the total to 10,592. We’ve also had 319 more positive tests, bringing the number of confirmed infected people in the Netherlands to 42,093.

Furthermore, there have been 71 confirmed deaths in the Netherlands, bringing the total to 5,359. As we’ve seen this week, the number of deaths each day is remaining quite low: but there’s more to the story than that, says the RIVM. More deaths than usual are taking place each week, which may be connected to coronavirus.

RIVM confirms extra deaths between 23 and 29 April

There were more deaths than expected in the week between 23 and 29 April, based on averages from previous years. A total of 3,580 deaths were reported over this timeframe in 2020. Normally we expect between 2,609 and 2,913 deaths at this time of year.

This year’s number is between 667 and 971 more deaths than we would expect. This is approximately 1.5 times the reported mortality of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients in the same week (533), the RIVM says. That means that there are likely a significant number of coronavirus deaths going unreported each week.

No more combined travel deals and bicycles on trains

In an effort to curb unnecessary travel by train, the NS has decided to implement some new measures. Starting from next Tuesday, people will no longer be allowed to bring bicycles on trains or purchase the Fietskaart Dal (which permits you to bring the bikes on trains). Furthermore, group discounts will be cancelled to prevent large groups from travelling together.

The reason for this new policy is to ensure that people keep train travel for when it’s only strictly necessary. These are all temporary measures which will be ended once the coronavirus crisis passes.

Big events will only be permitted once a coronavirus vaccine is developed

Yesterday, the Dutch cabinet announced the latest coronavirus measures. Although rules are set to relax starting May 11, large-scale public events will not be permitted until a vaccine exists.

Although the cabinet still has to make a decision about the status of major events and whether or not they can be organised after September 1, it was revealed for instance, that football matches will take place after that date, but without an audience.

As of now, much uncertainty is still in the air, and the exact way in which large-scale events will be permitted is still unclear, but hopefully more will be revealed in the weeks to come.

Health Minister’s plan for 1700 ICU beds is just not possible, experts say

At the press conference on Wednesday, Minister de Jonge mentioned 1700 as the number of ICU beds he wanted available, as a condition for relaxing the lockdown. But according to experts, that’s not going to be possible.

During the coronavirus crisis, the Netherlands was able to make the massive leap from its usual 1150 intensive care unit beds to 2200. However, the latter number is not sustainable- it was the result of an emergency situation. Now, however, these extra staff need to go back to their old departments, because treatment for non-coronavirus patients cannot be delayed any longer.

Rutte warns that opening terraces on June 1 is not certain

Throughout the next couple of months, the Netherlands will slowly ease some of the current coronavirus measures in place.

One of the possible measures to be lifted that people are certainly excited about is the opening of terraces on June 1. Nevertheless, Prime-Minister Mark Rutte warns that it is not fully certain that the terraces will open. 

The Outbreak Management Team (OMT) will advise one week before June 1 if it is safe to reopen the terraces. If the situation is well, June 1 will be the date when terraces open, under strict circumstances.

Will coronavirus change Amsterdam’s tourism policies?

In recent years, Amsterdam has been overrun by tourists, and local residents have been feeling overwhelmed. But now, of course, tourists physically cannot come to Amsterdam, which begs the question: do the locals want them to come back when travel is possible again?

The answer, it seems, is quite a resounding “no”: at least, they don’t want the same volume and type of tourism they were experiencing before.

Now, residents fear that these measures might be lifted to help Amsterdam get its economy back on track after the crisis.

For more news, follow DutchReview on Facebook. For all things coronavirus related in the Netherlands, check out our guide which covers everything you need to know. 

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Throughout the next couple of months, the Netherlands will slowly ease some of the current coronavirus measures in place.

One of the possible measures to be lifted that people are certainly excited is the opening of terraces on June 1. Nevertheless, Prime-Minister Mark Rutte warns that it is not fully certain that the terraces will open, reports NOS.

Transition phase

Rutte states that we are currently undergoing a transition phase. The Outbreak Management Team (OMT) will advise one week before June 1 if it is safe to reopen the terraces. They give this advice based on the number of new cases and the number of hospitalisations in intensive care units.

If the situation is well, June 1 will be the date when terraces open, under strict circumstances. Mark Rutte insists that based on current trends, it should be possible to open them. However, if the number of cases spikes again, they’ll decide against opening terraces.

Rutte is optimistic about the relaxing of measures

Rutte also considers that the relaxations that will take place next Monday will not impact the number of cases in any way. In that sense, he does not see it as a real relaxation, stating that “we will continue with what we were doing” in regards to social distancing. He urges people to avoid public transport unless absolutely necessary.

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