Measures taken to combat the spread of coronavirus in the Netherlands will materialise in the coming week, says Jaco Wallinga from the RIVM. Wallinga is responsible for analysing possible scenarios at the institute. 

Wallinga notes that we might already be able to see the effect of the measures – but more will be known later this week. Data is based mainly on the number of hospital admissions, since the official number of patients infected with the virus does not necessarily cover all infected patients (not everyone is being tested), according to the NOS.

In regards to hospital admissions, Wallinga says that the entire process of people getting infected, getting sick, calling the doctor then going to the hospital takes around two weeks.

Thus, the RIVM can only examine the effects of the measures first measure (no shaking hands) now. More data will likely follow next week as well, since the closing of workplaces was only implemented just over a week ago (March 12).

Better numbers

Interestingly, RTL Nieuws reported that 405 COVID-19 patients in the Netherlands are in intensive care units- 51 more than yesterday. However, the rate at which this number is increasing is less (the previous number reported was 73 in the span of 24 hours). It should be noted that it is not yet clear how many people have been discharged or have died so this data is speculative.

Volgens Diederik Gommers van de Nederlandse Vereniging voor Intensive Care liggen er nu 405 patiënten op de IC, dat is een toename van 51 patiënten. Dat is net iets minder dan de afgelopen twee dagen. Voorspelling eind komende week: tussen 500 en 1000 patiënten.

— Jildou van Opzeeland (@Jilnow) March 22, 2020

But for the time being, this is good news- as it means the number of beds are sufficient for patients in intensive care, and it also means that people are getting better. More will be known in the coming week.

Feature Image: DutchReview/Canva

On Sunday evening the mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb expressed on the show Nieuwsuur that he wouldn’t be surprised if a contact ban was introduced in the Netherlands as it was in Germany, according to nu.nl

In Germany, stricter measures were recently imposed in order to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country, whereby residents are no longer permitted to walk in the streets with more than two people at a time, except in the case of families, according to the NOS. This restriction will take place for a duration of at least two weeks and is meant to ‘shut down public life as much as possible,’ said chancellor Angela Merkel.

Mass Alert on Sunday

This Sunday, a mass alert was issued by the Dutch government in order to remind residents to stay at home if they were suffering from symptoms of a cough, cold or a fever, to stay 1.5 meters apart and to ‘keep your distance.’

The Dutch gov has just sent out a big text warning to phones across the Netherlands to warn everybody about keeping their distance and staying inside when they're not well #NLALERT #heelnederland #rivm #lockdownnl #coronavirus https://t.co/kAHMEMlmRG

— DutchReview (@Dutchreviewing) March 22, 2020

However, good weather conditions meant that many were outside, taking to the town streets and parks. Aboutaleb noted that although a contact ban in the Netherlands would ‘be a horrible measure,’ if advice is not followed more serious action will be necessary.

More severe measures

Aboutaleb stated that it was ‘careless and undisciplined behaviour’ not to follow advice. The mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema, also noted in the television program, Buitenhof that that observably, a complete government-imposed lockdown is not preferable but if people do not follow orders then more serious measures may be imposed.

The Minister of Justice and Security, Ferd Grapperhaus stipulated in the TV program EenVandaag that it was embarrassing to see healthcare workers on continuously working on the clock and in the meantime, seeing people  ‘walking through a forest.’

Today, mayors of major cities in the Netherlands will meet with the Dutch cabinet. Coronavirus numbers in the Netherlands are only getting worse– perhaps more serious measures are indeed needed.

Do you think the Netherlands should take more serious measures to combat the novel coronavirus? If so, what should they be? Leave your answers in the comments below.

Image: Wikipedia/cc/Wouter Engler (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burgemeester_Ahmed_Aboutaleb.jpg)

The RIVM (Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) has published the new number of coronavirus cases in the Netherlands, now reaching 4204. This is an increase of 573 from the last count.

Europe has been struck hard by the virus, and countries within the European Union are racing to implement harsher measures to contain the virus.

People are still going out for walks in parks and on beaches

Unfortunately, not everyone seems to have considered the call from the government to implement social distancing. People have gone on social media to express their dismay and anger with people who still go out in large groups in forests, without keeping a distance.

So many people went to beaches in places like Zaandvort, that mayors had to urge people not to go anymore given the current coronavirus crisis.

Emergency alert today on our phones

As a reminder of the current crisis situation, today all of us received an alarm signal on the phone, reminding us to keep a distance from one another during this crisis.

We think it’s a good thing that people have received this message on their phone. If initially, some people in the Netherlands blamed the government for their inaction on the crisis, now it seems that some Dutch people need to be reminded of the gravity of the situation, so that they may not go outside in groups in a grossly irresponsible fashion.

Check out our coronavirus guide and video

If you want a centralized source of information on the coronavirus in the Netherlands, give a check to our guide. We also have an informational video.

Follow DutchReview on Facebook for more information about coronavirus in the Netherlands.

The coronavirus is wreaking havoc throughout Europe, as countries are attempting to implement stricter and harsher measures in order to contain its spread.

While the Netherlands also has numerous cases of the virus, and the government has already recommended that people stay at home during this crisis, not everyone seems just as bothered.

Spring walks through forests and beaches

The good weather certainly makes it difficult to stay indoors, but nevertheless, if we are to go outside, we should at least respect social distancing rules and keep a distance of at least 1.5 meters from one another.

It seems like these safety precautions are still a mystery to some people. People on social media have expressed their anger, annoyance and concern at groups of people who are going out outdoors, reports NOS.

The scene above is from the cherry blossom tree park between Amstelveen and Amsterdam where people seem to be unable to read big signs which tell them to be at 1.5 meters away from each other.

In Zaandvort and Bloemendaal, so many people flocked to the beaches that the mayors of the cities had to issue a warning to prospective beachgoers not to go during these times of crisis.

The NS, which has allowed some trains to keep running in order to keep people in vital positions to do their jobs, has also noted that there are crowds of ‘day visitors’.

De treinen blijven rijden om mensen in vitale funkties ( zorg, hulpverlening ed)naar hun werk te kunnen blijven brengen, niet voor ‘dagje er op uit’. #NS_online #NS #OVNL Als we totale lock down willen vermijden moeten we verantwoordelijkheid nemen

— Roger van Boxtel (@rogervanboxtel) March 21, 2020

Hardware stores have also had complaints to make over customers not respecting the distance between people, leading to new measures in stores. For example, in some stores there are now stripes around the checkout area so that customers keep distance from one another.  Glass panes have also been places in front of the cash registry in order to protect employees of stores.

Security guards also have the role of enforcing the distance between people, yet they cannot always be 100% successful.

Queues at waste disposal sites

Another place that has gotten quite busy with people are waste disposal sites. Cars queue up, in some places with a waiting time of an hour, in order to dispose of their waste. Monique de Jong , a representative from ROVA, a waste collection company, urges people to only come if really necessary, and to try to save their waste whenever possible.

In the meantime, in the cities, where shopping areas are closed, there are barely any customers.

Follow DutchReview on Facebook for the lastest news about the coronavirus in the Netherlands.

Feature Image: Bo Brunsveld/Supplied

You were probably wondering what ‘Noodwaarschuwing: extreem ernstige melding’ means since you’ve just got that text at phone. It’s an NL-ALERT and it’s serious folks!

Did you just get a big rumbling message on your phone? And you could only read ‘keep your distance’? Well, you’ve just received an NL-ALERT text message sent by the government to remind everybody to stay at home if they have a cough, cold or fever and to keep their distance. Nice of them to also include an English line for all your internationals here.

People were out and about yesterday

Many Dutch people went outside yesterday and enjoyed the sunshine. This is already a risky move in this corona-era, but many people were astonished that people flocked together at beach towns and parks. Just look at this picture from near the Cherry Blossom Park at Amstelveen (near Amsterdam)

We know that these Japanese Cherry Blossom trees are nice. But damnit people! That's not 1,5m distance, there's even a frickin sign there. THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS BUT DO NEED QUARANTINE 🤯 #Amsterdam #Amstelveen (📸 @FeministCtulhu ) #coronavirus #covid19Nederland pic.twitter.com/lPMC8Px9uA

— DutchReview (@Dutchreviewing) March 21, 2020

The current number of coronavirus patients in the Netherlands stands at 3631 after RIVM published the latest count today. 

This is an increase of 637 patients since yesterday. Sadly, 30 people have also died in the same period. All deaths to date are reported to be between 63 and 95 years of age. It’s likely the number of cases is far higher, however, these are the official figures reported by health officials.

Here’s some stuff to cheer you up

There is a whole myriad of crap going on in our lives and the world in general and there’s not much we can do about it besides #flattenthecurve and #washyourhands. So today, instead of feeling even crappier after our coronavirus update, here are some things which not totally suck:

• Our King Willem Alexander gave a speech and there wasn’t much news in it, but it was uplifting and comforting in a sense
• Emissions are dropping because of this and nature is making a come back
• Supermarkets are opening up just for our elderly <3
• Memes about coronavirus, if not now then when
• #Coronahulp! It’s there if you need it
• Still anxious? This article may help with anxiety in the corona-era
• Unsold flowers are given to our heroes in the medical sector

Oh, and since it’s almost the flower season anyways, we might as well enjoy that:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Normally it would be about time to massively swarm the near blossoming #flower fields. Well, liking and loving pictures of the these lovely Dutch tulip fields is the next best thing we guess 🌷😘 Lovely pic by @spuffnix

A post shared by DutchReview (@dutchreview) on Mar 15, 2020 at 3:03am PDT

With lockdowns, self-isolation and quarantines, the coronavirus outbreak means less air-travel and road travel, which translates to less CO₂ emissions worldwide. Although it’s difficult to find anything good in coronavirus, it is true that it has been giving our planet a break from humans, and the effects are already showing. 

Since the Netherlands entered partial lockdown last week, people have been confined to their homes for well, everything. Since most are working from home nowadays, according to Ronald Kempen of Tamoil, of their 213 petrol stations in the Netherlands, 25% less petrol and diesel were refuelled in recent days compared to pre-coronavirus times, de Volkskrant reports. Furthermore, air traffic has decreased by roughly 80% here in the Netherlands as most flights have been cancelled or postponed.

Although more electricity has been consumed at home, less has been consumed in the office- which seems to balance out.

Not just due to the coronavirus, and not just in the Netherlands

De Volkskrant also reports that Dutch greenhouse gas emissions, which have been on a slow decline for years now, will decrease faster in 2020, according to Pieter Boot of the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. Boot also predicts a worldwide drop: already in China and Italy, 30-50% less nitrogen oxide was released into the air, a boon for those with lung complaints (and also great for corona times).

Other factors (apart from coronavirus) are also benefitting circumstances. This includes the warmer winter, which has saved 1.5 million tons of emissions, as well as a broken coal-fired power station in Maasvlakte, which has saved 1 million tons.

Does this mean we’re hitting targets?

However, this is still not enough – in order to meet the Urgenda targets, emissions need to decrease by 9-11 million tons this year, and 25% fewer cars on the road for a month will only save 3/4 of a million tons, according to Boot.

Furthermore, slow demand has caused the price to drop to $27.73 per barrel, its lowest since 2004. This might affect how willing and able states are to make investments into ‘clean’ energy. But of course this is still speculation.

Nonetheless, less energy consumption (even if it doesn’t quite hit the target) is still something.

Nature is flourishing without humans

You’ve probably already seen the waters of Venetian canals slowly turning crystal clear over the past few days- but if you haven’t, here is a video of dolphins enjoying their new extra habitat in the beautiful city which has been on lockdown since late February.

Venice hasn't seen clear canal water in a very long time. Dolphins showing up too. Nature just hit the reset button on us pic.twitter.com/RzqOq8ftCj

— Gianluca De Santis (@b8taFPS) March 17, 2020

Also deer are taking over cathedrals, which anyone in their right mind would support.

Oh to be a deer exploring the beauty of a cathedral pic.twitter.com/fDzOd9OjW3

— Memento MoRyan 🦇☠️ (@MorgothGf) March 9, 2020

And in Bloemendaal, they’re trotting down the street. Amazing!

Echt geen kip op straat hier. #CoronaCrisis #bloemendaal pic.twitter.com/vjf0F8MmGe

— Marjolein Sintenie (@Smintenie) March 20, 2020

Have you noticed a change in your own carbon footprint? Let us know in the comments!

Feature Image: Monkeyboy0076/Wikimedia Commons