The RIVM has published the latest count of coronavirus cases in the Netherlands, for May 20.

As of today, a further 198 cases have been detected in the country, bringing the total number of cases registered to 44,447.

In terms of the severity of some of the cases, a further 14 people have ended up in the hospital.

Unfortunately, another 33 people have passed away from the virus, with 5,748 total casualties ever since the outbreak began.

Youth unemployment skyrockets because of coronavirus

Unemployment has risen with unprecedented speed in April. Those who are most affected are young people with flexible contracts. The industries most affected by coronavirus- restaurants and cafes, the cultural sector, etc- are those in which young people tend to work, and they tend to do so under flexible contracts. That means that businesses are able to fire them, or give them no more hours, far more easily than more established employees. The government is due to release a second support package for affected industries this evening.

How the Dutch are expanding intensive care

Today, the Dutch House of Representatives will discuss the expansion of normal IC capacity in the Netherlands. Specialists propose a “lite” version, in which more ventilation and rehabilitation clinics should be implemented.Health minister Hugo de Jonge advocates for an increase in IC capacity from 1,250 to 1,700 beds. However, a number of nurses and other healthcare professionals argue that this idea is impossible to carry out due to staff shortages.

Amsterdam may be the last Dutch city to reopen

Based on the current statistics by the RIVM, there have been calls by certain political parties to reopen certain industries in Amsterdam, such as the catering industry, hospitality as well as the tourism industry. Mayor Halsema warns against this enthusiasm: “I hear you talking about international tourism, and I also know that there are 55,000 hotel beds waiting for guests. In the coming period, however, we must be extremely cautious about stimulating regional, national and international traffic. If we do that too excessively, we run the risk that Amsterdam will become a seat of fire in a second wave [of coronavirus infections].”

Last night’s press conference

This evening, Prime Minister Rutte and Minister for Health Hugo de Jonge gave a press conference about the Netherland’s future approach to coronavirus, and what we can expect from the upcoming relaxations of coronavirus regulations. There were no big surprises, just a few technicalities that were a little different from what was expected. As planned, public buildings, including cafes and restaurants, can reopen from 1 June at midday.

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

Feature Image: DutchReview/Canva

Today, the Dutch House of Representatives will discuss the expansion of normal IC capacity in the Netherlands. Specialists propose a “lite” version, in which more ventilation and rehabilitation clinics should be implemented. 

Health minister Hugo de Jonge advocates for an increase in IC capacity from 1,250 to 1,700 beds. However, a number of nurses and other healthcare professionals argue that this idea is impossible to carry out due to staff shortages, NOS reports.

Others say that this period is still uncertain, and it may well be the case that such an expansion is unnecessary, as in pre-corona times, the capacity at 1,250 was sufficient. In fact, even during the worst coronavirus peak in the Netherlands, hospitals were able to absorb the shock. Additionally, IC beds are costly, at £2,500 per day in a teaching hospital.

IC lite

Thus, the idea of increasing ventilation and rehabilitation clinics, the IC lite, is intended to provide patients that are no longer in acute distress with rehabilitation so that they can continue to recover, whereas IC clinics would be reserved for patients in serious condition.

Not only does this cost less, at £1,800 but also allows for patients that lie somewhere in the middle to relieve the right care.

However, some specialists such as Diederik Gommers, president of the Association for Intensive Care, is concerned about a second wave, and whether the Dutch will be capable of accommodating it without a greater IC capacity.

Others contend that it’s merely a matter of creating space and getting patients out of IC units faster if possible.

Supply and demand

Pulmonologist Leo Heunks of the Amsterdam UMC says that only the amount of beds necessary should be available, since a surplus (a greater supply of beds than demand) would result in patients being admitted to IC units more easily, when it isn’t always required (the threshold for admitting patients into IC care is lower in the US, for instance).

Heunks would like to prevent this, arguing that it would only be costly, and would make it difficult to decrease beds later on in the future.

Do you think that the Dutch IC capacity should increase? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. 

Feature image: Canva

Unemployment has risen with unprecedented speed in April. Those who are most affected are young people with flexible contracts.

In the month of April, 74,000 new unemployment benefits were claimed, while the overall number of people on benefits increased by 41,000. The reason this is lower than the 74,000 new claims is that people’s benefits run out after a certain amount of time, or they find work – either way, they don’t appear on the unemployment benefit register any more.

Unemployment has increased historically quickly: between March and April, it increased from 2.9% to 3.4%. This rise, in such a short amount of time, is unprecedented. But then, we live in unprecedented times.

Why have young people been hit the hardest?

Young people have been hit especially hard by this wave of unemployment. The industries most affected by coronavirus- restaurants and cafes, the cultural sector, etc- are those in which young people tend to work, and they tend to do so under flexible contracts. That means that businesses are able to fire them, or give them no more hours, far more easily than more established employees.

Massive increase in certain sectors

The strongest increase in unemployment per sector has also been reported by the UWV: the cleaning sector is the hardest hit, with a 91% increase in unemployment, followed by temporary employment agencies (+87%), retail trade (+69%), culture (+67%) and the restaurant and catering sector (+60%).

Second support package on its way

The government is expected to release details on its second support package for the economy today. The first NOW grant required businesses not to lay off employees, otherwise, they would be fined. This is expected to be changed with the second grant, meaning that yet more unemployment is likely, RTL Nieuws reports.

How should the government support the economy and especially young people? Share your ideas in the comments below.

Feature Image: Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels 

The Minister for Agriculture, Carola Schouten, says it is plausible that coronavirus has spread from a mink to a person, NOS reports. 

In April, it came to light that several mink farms across the country had been infected with coronavirus. At that point, it wasn’t clear that the virus could be transmitted from mink to human, though the opposite had clearly already occurred.

Now, it is likely that a worker at a mink farm in the Netherlands has been infected with coronavirus by a mink. Minister Schouten confirmed that there are similarities between the virus that the minks have on a particular farm and the virus that an employee has been infected with. This would be the first time in the Netherlands that a human had been infected by an animal with coronavirus.

Extra protective measures at mink farms, but no exterminations yet

This development has naturally made extra protective measures at mink farms necessary. Employees already had to wear protective clothing, but now there will be screening for the virus in all companies that breed minks, and no visitors will be allowed.

Schouten wants to avoid exterminating the minks if at all possible. It is not possible for the virus to spread into the air around the pens where the minks are kept, so the danger to the public should be minimal.

Research on other animals transmitting coronavirus continues

Research is also underway on other farm animals to see if they can be infected with the virus, and even more crucially, to see if they can transmit it to humans. Pigs are particularly under consideration here, but Schouten was quick to emphasise that no human has been infected by pigs, and no pigs have been infected yet with the virus.

It is known that pets can be infected with the virus, specifically cats and dogs. Like humans, cats and dogs should stay home until they recover from the virus. You should speak to your vet if you have concerns about your pet’s health.

Are the current protective measures at mink farms enough, or is it time to start thinking about more extreme solutions? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature Image: Pdreinders/Wikimedia Commons

The latest numbers on coronavirus in the Netherlands are out. 

As of today, a further 21 people have died in the Netherlands, maintaining the current trend of between 15 and 40 people dying each day.

108 more people have tested positive for the virus today, and 34 people have been admitted to hospital because of coronavirus. These numbers all indicate that the current social distancing rules are working.

Catering industry to reopen at midday on 1 June

The catering industry will open at 12:00 on 1 June. There won’t be any exceptions for beach clubs, despite pleas from 70 of them in The Hague. It’s not yet clear if the beach clubs will go ahead and break the rules and reopen tomorrow, as they have threatened. There will be a press conference tonight from Rutte and De Jonge.

Dutch marble racers get famous

And to close, here’s a bit of light news: two Dutch marble racers have gained international fame after being featured on John Oliver’s show, “Last night with John Oliver”. Instead of contact sports in these coronavirus times, marble racing is the way to go.

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

Feature Image: DutchReview/Canva