The catering industry can reopen on 1 June at midday, according to advice from mayors to the cabinet. It is likely that the cabinet will take this advice on board, RTL Nieuws reports.

The horeca sector will be allowed to reopen on 1 June, but not at midnight, as some had expected. The government wants to avoid a huge rush to cafes and bars, and generally to reduce the amount of partying that the reopening of the catering industry could inspire. For that reason, cafes, restaurants and bars will be reopening at midday on 1 June.

Beach clubs in The Hague still want to open early

Yesterday, we reported that beach clubs in The Hague were threatening to reopen early, this Wednesday, flaunting government regulations in doing so. The sector is under severe financial pressure at the moment, so 70 beach clubs wrote to The Hague municipality to ask for permission to open early.

Yesterday evening, the municipality responded, denying permission to reopen early. It’s not yet clear if (some of) the beach clubs will decide to reopen on Wednesday anyway.

Press conference tonight

There will also be a press conference this evening from Prime Minister Rutte and Minister de Jonge, when we’ll get an update on how the government planning to carry out the relaxations of the coronavirus rules on 1 June.

Would you support beach clubs reopening early? Let us know in the comments below. 

Feature Image: Abuzer van Leeuwen/Supplied

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

As of today, 146 more cases have been reported in the Netherlands, bringing the total to 44,141 cases countrywide.

In regards to serious cases of the coronavirus, 27 more people have ended up in the hospital.

Lastly and unfortunately, 14 more people have died from the virus, with 5,694 total reported deaths in the country since the outbreak begun.

Number of coronavirus ICU patients increases for the first time in over a month

The number of people with coronavirus in intensive care has gone up slightly for the first time since 11 April. Since that date, fewer coronavirus patients were in ICU beds each day. On Sunday, that increased by 3 to 349. The figures for today have not yet been released, so it remains to be seen if this is a blip or the beginning of a worrying trend.

High schools in a 1.5m society

High schools will reopen on 2 June, but they need to find a way to allow students to keep 1.5m from each other, unlike primary schools. So, different solutions are being trialled, with vulnerable students and students who need to do their education physically in the school building are being prioritised.

Corona-delayed students will get refund on tuition fee

HBO, MBO and university students who are dealing with a delay in graduation as a result of the coronavirus crisis will get a refund of three months’ worth of tuition fee. There will also be extra grants for students who rely on them, but whose grants will now run out before they graduate as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

Hague beach clubs breach coronavirus regulations and plan early reopening

70 beach clubs in The Hague are planning to reopen early this Wednesday, a few days ahead of 1 June, when they are legally allowed to reopen. If the municipality will not allow them to open and give them fines, they will need to do so to the 70 beach operators. And according to them, “If we go bankrupt anyway, such a ticket makes little difference.”

Dutch artwork to take the place of advertisements

The Rembrandt Foundation is planning to liven up city streets with Dutch art. The plan is to showcase famous Dutch works of art in different open spaces throughout the Netherlands. This includes bus stations in over 280 Dutch municipalities. The artworks that will be showcased have been selected by the public.

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

Feature Image: DutchReview/Canva

High schools plan to reopen on June 2 for a brief period before summer, but are struggling slightly with the implementation of some coronavirus measures. 

Namely, keeping a 1.5-meter distance, Trouw reports. Although this rule doesn’t apply to primary schools, it does when it comes to secondary schools.

The dilemma

Keeping this distance would mean that only 1/4 of the student body could be present at a time. Although not all students will come to school as often and students that require physical education will be prioritised.

This means that teachers would need to teach the same class four times, which won’t be feasible.

Problem-solving

Consequently, schools have come up with difficult solutions, such as working with small groups and streaming classes online for students at home to view. Thus, most schools will retain some form of online education.

Vulnerable students who don’t receive enough support at home are welcome at schools, as are VMBO students who have practical lessons such as welding.

This is because these students require certain equipment that cannot be obtained at home, or demonstrations that cannot be taught over a simple Zoom call.

Trial period

The few weeks before summer vacation are sort of a trial period, in which schools can test how learning can continue under the coronavirus for the coming year, should circumstances remain the same.

Do you have a high schooler heading back to school on June 2? Let us know in the comments.

Feature image: Gustavo Fring/Pexels

The planned relaxations of coronavirus rules scheduled for 1 June will probably go ahead as planned, reports from The Hague indicate.

Although we have known for a while which rules the government was planning to relax on 1 June, this is an indication that things are continuing to go pretty well when it comes to coronavirus in the Netherlands. RIVM Director Jaap van Dissel noted in a discussion with the cabinet that the number of deaths and hospitalisations related to coronavirus in the Netherlands are continuing to fall.

So, what is due to happen on 1 June?

On 1 June, the government plans to allow cafes and restaurants to reopen (with reservations), cultural institutions and cinemas to reopen with limited capacity, and high schools to reopen. This will likely go ahead, RTL Nieuws reports.

Early opening on Pentecost weekend unlikely

However, there has been no discussion of the horeca sector being allowed to reopen earlier than that among the cabinet. The catering industry wants to reopen the weekend before, which is Pentecost weekend. They would like to be able to take advantage of the weekend, given that they will open on 1 June anyway.

But police and authorities would rather reduce crowds on the street, and if the horeca reopens on a weekend where everyone tends to be out and about anyway, there would likely be a massive amount of people in city centres.

Press conference tomorrow to confirm

We will know for sure that restaurants will be able to reopen this Tuesday, when the cabinet will hold a crisis meeting, followed by a press conference given by PM Mark Rutte and Minister for Health Hugo de Jonge. The government is also expected to present a new support package for the economy on Wednesday.

Are you excited for the horeca to reopen? Or do you think it’s too soon? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature Image: Free-Photos/Pixabay

Saturday’s coronavirus figures

Yesterday, deaths and hospitalisations remained low, with 27 and 45 new cases of each reported. The decrease in demand for ICU beds has fallen more sharply this week than before. There were only 346 people with coronavirus in ICUs yesterday, 32 less than the day before. According to Ernst Kuipers of the National Network Acute Care, “the number of covid beds has decreased by 36 percent in the past week, significantly faster than in the previous three weeks. This faster decrease is favorable for resuming other care. ”

The Netherlands rejects 5 million defective facemasks

The Netherlands has been importing face masks for the last few weeks, mostly for those in the healthcare sector. In total, it has brought 47.2 million face masks in, mostly from China. Over 5 million of these have turned out to be unusable, because of defects in the filter that should trap particles. A further 3.9 million face masks have also been rejected, but these could be used for other purposes, such as for the general public (and not the healthcare sector).

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

Feature Image: DutchReview/Canva