While the coronavirus pandemic dominates every front page, other news is getting bumped to less prestigious places. Here is a recap of the news stories you might have missed since the virus snatched the news cycle.

February

False claims of harassment by Dutch politician

Dutch police are investigating if the founder of the Netherlands’ anti-immigration Forum for Democracy (FvD) party, Thierry Baudet, committed a criminal offence when he falsely claimed two female friends had been “seriously harassed by four Moroccans on a train”.

Vanavond zijn twee dierbare vriendinnen ernstig lastig gevallen door 4 Marokkanen in de trein. Aangifte doen natuurlijk volstrekt zinloos. Oh lieve, kinderlijk naïeve Nederlanders! Stem nou toch eindelijk voor verandering. Breek los uit politiek correct gelul! Red dit land! #FVD

— Thierry Baudet (@thierrybaudet) January 31, 2020

After he posted the claim on Twitter, other commuters who had been on the train rebutted his claims. After Baudet posted a picture of the alleged suspects on his Instagram, the NS stated that the men were a police officer and three tickets inspectors.

It was later revealed that the women did not believe the men were ticket inspectors and refused to show them their tickets, which led them to identify themselves and call the police officer. The NS clarified that it is common practice for inspectors not to wear a uniform, in order to avoid people escaping checks.

March

Mothers going missing from Dutch shelters

After dozens of pregnant African women living in asylum shelters in the Netherlands went missing, the Dutch government issued an alert in the hopes of locating them. They believe these women were taken against their will, and are likely victims of human traffickers and illegal adoptions schemes.

An investigation conducted by The Guardian and Argos Radio of Netherlands established that women continue to vanish weekly from asylum shelters in the whole of the Netherlands.

Post-consumer age mall opens in Groningen

In a time when the overconsumption model is proving unstainable, Groeningen placed its bet for the future with a ten storey “multi-space” mall that sells almost nothing.

Created to be a hub for the whole community, the mall is the result of a €101m investment. It has a big library, movie theatres, exhibition halls, cafes, a museum about comics, an auditorium and a top-floor restaurant and bar.

It is possible to spend very little – or nothing – to do something fun downtown. That’s Groeningen’s rebuttal to the commercialisation of public space and its bet for the future of cities and communities.

Dagger from Indonesian hero returned with a 45 year delay

The Dagger belongs to Diponegoro, a prince who led an unsuccessful uprising against Dutch rule in Indonesia in 1830. It is reported that after his defeat, he laid the dagger at the Dutch governor-general of the Dutch East Indies’ feet. In 1975, the Dutch government promised to return Diponegoro’s treasures to Indonesia, but the dagger went missing.

Despite efforts by Dutch ambassadors to Indonesia to return the object, museum officials considered the return undesirable – they had also mislabeled it. After the publication of secret memos in a historian’s book, the issue of the dagger was raised again. Outside experts came in and found the dagger, which the Dutch culture minister was finally able to return.

April

Hague court orders the Dutch state to pay compensation over colonial massacres

During World War II Japan occupied Indonesia, after its defeat nationalist leaders proclaimed in 1945 the Republic of Indonesia. In the next four years, the Netherlands fought to keep its 350-year-old colonial grip on the country.

Now, the families of 11 men who died through the hands of Dutch soldiers, as a consequence of their misbehaviour, will get compensation. One man saw his father being shot when he was 10 years old, another was the family member of a man who was randomly killed. It was an uphill battle for the claimants that lasted eight years, some died before the ruling.

Dutch court rules in favour of euthanasia for advanced dementia patients

Dutch doctors are allowed to carry out euthanasia of patients with advanced dementia who have asked for the procedure in the past. The Supreme Court upheld a ruling from a lower court, which cleared a doctor from carrying out the euthanasia of a patient with severe dementia. The patient could not ask for the procedure at the moment but had asked for it in writing in the past.

What other news stories have you noticed being overshadowed by coronavirus? Let us know in the comments below.

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The current coronavirus crisis has lead to the cancellation of many events that people were looking forwards to this year, from King’s Day to Eurovision.

Nevertheless, the city of Rotterdam is planning to host Eurovision next year in 2021, reports NOS.

6.7 million euros set aside for next year

The city has already decided to set aside 6.7 million euros, in order to invest them in Eurovision next year. This sum comes as an addition to the 15 million euros already invested in Eurovision for this year.

Eurovision would normally have happened in a few weeks from now, but given the current circumstances, that is not possible. In order to participate again as a city, the city council needs to stand behind the candidacy and invest money. A decision will be taken around mid-May if Rotterdam is to truly host it in 2021.

Eurovision care festival

Another plan for next year if plans to host Eurovision come to fruition is to support the care workers from Rotterdam which are now on the frontlines of the coronavirus crisis. The plan, laid down by the city council, is to give care workers free tickets to the show and to honour them during the tv show.

Alderman Kasmi is the one responsible for implementing the plan and is currently looking planning to invite care workers to a show or to a rehearsal.

Follow DutchReview on Facebook for the latest news on the coronavirus in the Netherlands.

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You might have been wondering how public transport will work in a 1.5m society, especially when businesses reopen and more people need to travel. Well, like most problems that have arisen as a result of the coronavirus crisis, an app will come to the rescue. Hopefully. 

It’s not expected that the number of people needing to travel by public transport will increase much as a result of the primary schools reopening in May, but if other relaxations come, space will certainly be at a premium.

Trains can be 25% full if the 1.5m rule is observed

If the 1.5m rule is kept to, trains can be 25% filled. At the moment, they’re currently 10-15% full, so there is not a huge amount of wiggle room. For that reason, a reservations app for seats is being considered.

How to decide who should travel, and when

In theory, this should be pretty easy: plenty of transport systems in other countries run on a reservations basis all year round. But the question here is rather who can travel, and when.

Of course, essential workers should get priority, and there should be special hours for vulnerable people to travel. There is also the question of how you enforce such a thing: who checks if someone is an essential worker? And should there be a complete ban on non-essential travel?

“You cannot leave that to the personnel of the transport companies.”

These are the questions that a working group made up of employees of the Ministry of Infrastructure, public transport companies, and passenger organisations.

“You can already see that the grumpiness among passengers is increasing,” says Pedro Peters in an interview with NOS. “If you are going to keep passengers out, you cannot leave that to the personnel of the transport companies. That is a government task. That has to be arranged.”

Would you support a ban on non-essential travel with public transport? Let us know in the comments below.

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The RIVM has published the latest count of coronavirus cases in the Netherlands.

As of now, there are 35,729 confirmed cases, 887 more than yesterday. The number of hospitalizations has reached 10,158 an increase of 137 from the last count. There have also been 123 more deaths since yesterday, reaching a total of 4,177 deaths.

How are things looking in the ICUs?

As we know by now, the number of beds occupied by coronavirus patients in intensive care units is one of the best ways of monitoring the progress of the virus. Things are continuing to improve in that regard, as the number of patients in ICU beds associated with coronavirus has dropped for the 11th day in the row as of yesterday.

Today 1050 patients related to the #coronavirus are on the intensive care. This is 37 less than yesterday and the eleventh consecutive day with a decrease of occupied IC beds. #coronavirusNL #coronaNederland pic.twitter.com/9Pz2lUsTfb

— TAG (@itsTAGofficial) April 22, 2020

Air France-KLM CEO to get bigger bonus if he secures financial aid for company

The KLM storm rages on, after it was revealed that Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith’s bonus will be increased if he brings in financial support for the company. Like all of the aviation industry, the company has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis: but people are pretty angry about a portion of the suggested 10 billion euros heading straight for one man’s pockets.

Primary schools could reopen fully by 1 June

If all goes well with the partial reopening of primary schools after the May vacation, the cabinet has recommended that they fully reopen on 1 June. This would mean that all children under 12 would get between four and six weeks of regular school before the summer holidays begin.

Cafes and restaurants not likely to reopen soon says Rutte

Yesterday in the weekly debate about coronavirus in the House of Representatives, Rutte said he didn’t foresee the catering industry being able to reopen any time soon. He said he was already worried about the restrictions lifted on Tuesday, and that he wanted to make sure the healthcare system could cope.

What will cinemas look like in a 1.5m society?

Like cafes, cinemas can’t reopen yet. But they already have a plan for how they could do it, and it involves allowing only a quarter of the seats in each theatre to be filled. Furthermore, tickets might become more expensive, and cinema-goers will be advised not to arrive early, to avoid crowding in the foyer.

Coronavirus was probably in the Netherlands long before we initially thought

Based on an RIVM model, it seems that coronavirus was present in the Netherlands from at least mid-February onwards, although the first case was only reported on 27 February. Individuals who were tested later than this said that they had symptoms in early February already.

Follow DutchReview on Facebook for more coronavirus updates in the Netherlands. 

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According to a model run by the RIVM, the coronavirus might have travelled and spread through the Netherlands earlier than the first confirmed case.

February 27 was the date when the first official coronavirus case was reported. However, the coronavirus might have been in the Netherlands since February 15, reports AD.

Business as usual in February

Back in February, the coronavirus did not inspire the same amount of urgency and concern as it does now. Testing procedures were limited and so was the level of alertness.

A woman from Brabant ended up in intensive care on February 21, with a coronavirus test being conducted on her much later (she tested positive). The woman had medical complaints for weeks leading up to her arrival in an ICU.

Similarly, a poll among hospital staff in Brabant showed that seven out of 86 infected employees had complaints since mid-February.

In mid-February, things were normal in Netherlands. Thousands of people flocked to football stadiums and to music festivals, unaware that there were several cases of coronavirus already throughout the country. This was a full two weeks before Minister Bruins announced the first case.

How did the virus spread to the Netherlands?

From what is known so far, the coronavirus spread from other highly infected regions, such as from Lombardy in Italy.

This was caused by many Dutch people travelling there for winter sports. As no travel restrictions or medical check-ups on arrival were in place, people carrying the virus escaped attention when they arrived from Italy to the Netherlands.  This is confirmed by professor virology Marion Koopmans from Erasmus MC, who has said that “winter sports were a super spreader”.

Another area from which the virus spread is from Austria, again due to winter sports. In the city of Ischgl, which has a ski-resort, quite a large number of Dutch people got infected and then spread the virus when returning back home in the Netherlands.

You can get more information about the overall situation of the coronavirus in our article here.

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The cabinet has said that primary schools should aim to reopen fully before the summer holidays begin, if the initial partial opening goes well, NOS reports.

That means that they would likely reopen fully by 1 June. Depending on the regionally variable date for summer holidays to begin, that would mean students would get between 4 and 6 weeks of regular classes before vacation begins.

Primary schools will reopen partially after May vacation

Primary schools will reopen partially after the May vacation, as we learned during Tuesday’s press conference. This decision was based on the available scientific evidence, which indicates that children under twelve tend to get infected less often and have much less severe symptoms of coronavirus.

Alternating days better than half days

Education institutes advised schools to begin by allowing half of their students to come to school one day, and the other half the next day, alternating throughout the week. This a better option than all students getting half days, as it minimises contact for both students and teachers. But it is up to individual primary schools to choose whether to take this advice.

Parents not allowed in school building or yard

After the May vacation, parents may not come into the school or the schoolyard. It’s not clear if that will change once all students have full school weeks after 1 June.

You can follow DutchReview on Facebook for more coronavirus updates.

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Cinemas cannot reopen yet, but they have submitted a protocol to the government detailing how they could uphold the 1.5 metre rule when they do open their doors once more, BNR reports.

The week before 20 May, Rutte will give another press conference detailing the next steps for the coronavirus restrictions, and whether any more will be relaxed. Lots of industries are already preparing for the time when they reopen, and are submitting protocols to the government for approval.

Only a quarter of seats can be filled

For cinemas, that means that only a quarter of the seats in any given theatre will be filled. Most cinemas reckon that they will be able to accommodate 70 to 75% of the customers they normally could. For large theatres, such as the Tuschinski in Amsterdam, which has 735 seats, a maximum of 100 people will be allowed inside.

Cinemas need more government support, says director of NVBF

Even allowing a quarter of their regular clientele inside will help the cinema industry in the Netherlands out a lot. Although they are being supported by the NOW government grant, they are really feeling the loss of advertising and partnership revenue.

‘At the moment we are supported by the NOW scheme, but we are counting on extending the measures. That is really necessary to maintain the situation somewhat. We can guarantee that the distance of one and a half meters can be applied properly,’ says Gulian Nolthenius, director of the Dutch Association of Cinemas and Movie Theatres.

Fewer films and no arriving early

Fewer films will be shown, as well, in order to maintain the low number of people. Furthermore, cinema goers will be requested to arrive a shorter time before the film begins, to avoid crowding in the foyer. It is not yet clear if movie tickets will become more expensive.

Of course, for now, this is all just planning and hoping: cinemas cannot open their doors again, until at least 20 May, and possibly longer. With that in mind, Nolthenius says that cinemas badly need government support, even after 28 April.

What films are you excited to see in the cinema when they do reopen? Let us know in the comments below.

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Yesterday, in the weekly coronavirus debate in the House of Representatives, Prime Minister Rutte said that he didn’t foresee the catering industry being able to reopen any time soon, NOS reports. 

On Tuesday, Rutte gave a press conference explaining which coronavirus rules would be relaxed after 28 April, and which not. Generally, most rules will be remaining in place until 20 May, but primary schools and daycare will be reopening after the May vacation, and children under 12 years can begin to play team sports again.

This decision was based on the RIVM director, Jaap van Dissel’s statement that children generally get the virus less often, and less severely than adults. Allowing schools and daycare to reopen will also take the pressure of parents who are working from home.

Healthcare system must recover first

But Rutte does not believe that normal life will return any time soon: he says he is already worried about whether the current relaxations will put yet more pressure on the healthcare system.

It is crucial that the healthcare system has time to recover and to begin treating all non-coronavirus patients again: for example, someone with cancer who is awaiting an operation at the moment.

Possibility that hairdressers could reopen before 20 May

At the same time, Rutte also remarked that the 20 May was not a sacred date, and that if it became possible to reopen certain industries before this date, that could happen.

There is, for example, research being done on whether hairdressers can reopen if they and their customers use face masks.

Support package very likely to be extended

This is undoubtedly a blow for the Horeca- and for those of us who were hoping to be back eating at our favourite restaurant sooner rather than later.

However, extending the current support package for industries badly hit by the coronavirus rules was also discussed yesterday in the House of Representatives. It will almost certainly be extended, with the added condition that businesses that receive it can no longer pay bonuses, dividends, or buy back their own shares.

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

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