There are now 12,595 cases of coronavirus in the Netherlands, after the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) published the latest figures today. This is an increase of 845 patients from last counts, with 175 new deaths. 722 new patients are now in hospitals.

Prime-Minister Mark Rutte and Minister De Jonge will hold a press conference this evening at 7 PM, announcing until what date will the new coronavirus measures be extended.

New extension expected until the end of April/early May

While we do not know the exact date yet, inside sources from the Government have confirmed that most likely the new extension of the current measures will last until the end of April or early May.

Another potential measure that will be implemented is a ban on domestic tourism. Tourists will no longer be allowed to have overnight stays in the different provinces of the Netherlands, and they will need to stay in their place of residence. The province of Zeeland has already implemented this measure.

Italy critical of lack of financial solidarity from the Netherlands

12 mayors from Italian cities, governors and a member of the European Parliament wrote an open letter criticizing that the Netherlands is not opening up more funds in order to help the hard-hit Southern European countries.

The current measures by the Dutch government are still directed to withholding the money, but there’s not a full political consensus on the issue, as members from ChristenUnie and D66 have expressed that the Netherlands ought to help other member states.

Check out our guide to the coronavirus

If you need a centralized source of information for all coronavirus related news in the Netherlands, you can check out our article with all you need to know about the situation, updated daily.

Follow DutchReview on Facebook for all news related to the coronavirus in the Netherlands.

Feature Image: DutchReview/Canva

Today, the cabinet is having a crisis meeting in order to determine if to adopt the recommendations given by the Outbreak Management Team.

The deadline for the existing measures was until April 6, but considering that coronavirus cases keep rising a revaluation of the current policies is needed, reports RTL Nieuws.

Press conference today at 7 PM

After today’s debates with the cabinet, health experts and the Outbreak Management Team, Prime-Minister Mark Rutte and Minister De Jonge will hold a joint press conference at 7 PM. They will announce the new measures, and you can watch the press conference live on the internet or on television. We will keep you posted about the newest decisions.

The measures will most likely be extended until the end of April/early May

To curb the spread of the coronavirus, the existing measures will need to be extended for a longer period of time. The cabinet is debating today what will be the exact date of the extension, which will be announced during the press conference.

Call to end all domestic holidays

Insiders from the government confirmed that part of the advice from the Outbreak Management Team is to ban all domestic holidays within the country.

This involves overnight stays at hotels, campsites, recreational parks and bed and breakfast locales.

Some regions, like Zeeland, have already implemented these measures. All non-residents are no longer allowed to visit Zeeland and stay overnight. These measures are taken to protect the local healthcare system there and to prevent the spread of the coronavirus through would-be travellers.

Should the Netherlands implement further measures, or are the ones already in place sufficient? Let us know in the comments.

Feature Image: Skitterphoto/Pixabay 

A free app that checks and records symptoms of coronavirus for residents of Amsterdam has already detected 2,849 potential cases. The app has been used over a million times in the past two weeks.

OLVG corona check was developed by Onze Lieve Vrouwen Gasthuis (OLVG) hospital and Amsterdam tech company Luscii. It provides online help tracking and assessing complaints that could point to coronavirus. 64,000 people have downloaded the app already, and 52,000 have been regularly using the app.

Users monitor any symptoms on a daily basis by recording answers to a number of questions: do they have a sore throat? A fever? A cold? Shortness of breath? A cough?

From there, a hospital medical team then assesses whether care is needed. Hospital staff contact at-risk users by phone or WhatsApp within 24-hours.

Twee weken na lancering OLVG Corona check zijn er 52.000 actieve gebruikers; zijn 21.290 telefoongesprekken gevoerd; is bij 2849 personen op basis vd richtlijnen een #COVID19 verdenking gesteld waarvoor quarantaine advies; 35 zijn doorverwezen naar SEH. https://t.co/CeWyCk8ltu pic.twitter.com/XUYECp6Bv7

— Maurice vd Bosch (@MauricevdBosch) March 30, 2020

The app could help the Amsterdam healthcare system avoid unnecessary stress. So far it’s been so successful that other Dutch hospitals plan to use it. Already, UMC Utrecht has made the app accessible to Utrechters.

How can I get the app?

Currently, the app is only accessible to people in certain postcodes. Residents of greater Amsterdam, Amstelveen, Zaanstad and Almere can register via this link. Utrechters must head to this website.

The app could soon be available to up to 4.7 million people. However, the hospital maintains that the app does not replace regular or emergency care.

Would you use an app like this? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

The coronavirus outbreak has been not only been a challenge to individual European countries but for the European Union as a whole.

Recently, in an open letter published in a German newspaper, Italy has accused the Netherlands of showing a lack of solidarity during the current coronavirus outbreak, reports NOS.

Lack of financial support for hard-hit countries in Southern Europe

The open letter was written by 12 Italian mayors, governors of different regions and a member of the European Parliament.

EU feud between Italy & NL goes next level. Prominent Italians (economists, governors and mayors) publish letter in Frankfurter Algemeine asking Germans to distance themselves from the Netherlands – country that’s “not ethical and inclusive” (v @paulkirbyuk) #coronavirus https://t.co/i5v86Jp1VF

— anna holligan 🎙 (@annaholligan) March 31, 2020

In their view, the Netherlands is the head of a group of different countries that are blocking more financial support for countries that have been strongly affected by the outbreak, especially countries in Southern Europe, including Italy. Germany is called upon in the letter to not join this group of countries which do not offer support.

Italy has been left feeling unsupported by its fellow EU countries during the crisis. Italian newspapers over this past month have criticized the Dutch approach of not allowing more money to be freed up for loaning through the EU emergency fund ESM and Eurobonds.

This crisis cannot end with our countries being put up for sale. In this moment, we have to strengthen our Union and its market. Countries that are still hestitant about this – who will you sell your technology or tulips to, if the European market is not protected? pic.twitter.com/HeUehTBCGC

— David Sassoli (@EP_President) March 28, 2020

The criticism went even further, with some newspaper describing Prime-Minister Mark Rutte as being ‘cruel’, and that the Netherlands is a tax haven for Italian corporations, therefore not allowing their tax revenue to be invested back into Italy, reports NRC.

Criticism on the Facebook page of the Dutch Embassy in Italy

Italians have flocked over to the Facebook page of the Dutch Embassy in Italy to express their dismay at the Dutch approach at the European Union level. While some people express understanding, many have expressed their anger.

There have been calls for boycotting Dutch products, and people have described the Dutch as being selfish and ‘brutal money lenders’.

People go even further, using examples from history, from the slave trade to the Dutch response during the fall of Srebrenica.

A difference of opinions in Dutch politics

Not all Dutch politicians agree with their country’s official stance as of now. For example, Gert-Jan Segers, leader of the ChristenUnie political party, said during a talk show on Op1 that a financial support plan similar to the Marshall Plan (developed to help Western countries after WW2) needs to be established and that Italy needs to be helped. This echoes a similar message of support from D66 leader Rob Jetten.

Should the Netherlands demonstrate more solidarity for European countries as the coronavirus outbreak unfolds? Let us know in the comments.

Feature Image: Sebastiaan ter Burg/Flickr

The current coronavirus measures are due to expire on the 6th of April. However, they could soon be extended. 

The government is discussing today how long the measures will last, reports RTL Nieuws.

Duration of the new extension of the measures is unknown

As of now, it is unknown when the new deadline for the measures will be. We will probably find out tomorrow evening when a press conference is held at 7 PM.

Today, the cabinet is meeting with experts and officials from the Ministry of Health in order to discuss and see exactly until when the new extensions will be applied, and if any further measures are necessary.

Insiders from the cabinet have stated that the possibility of the extension could run-up to the end of April or even early May. Part of the discussion today is to see what to do about the upcoming May school holidays.

The government wants to transmit a clear message tomorrow so that people will know what the situation is and plan accordingly.

Which measures will be extended?

First, catering venues, restaurants, schools and bars will continue to remain closed. Events, in general will also continue to be prohibited, including licensed events, up to the June 1.

Mayors are also allowed to close certain locations such as beaches or parks, after last weekend saw huge groups of people going to public places.

People must stay at home as much as possible and shopping must be done alone. Children are still allowed to play outside, but it’s best that the adults stay inside.

If you have a fever or a member of your family has a fever, you are all required to stay indoors. Finally, you must respect the necessary distance of 1.5 metres, otherwise your risk a fine of up to 390 euros.

All of these measures could be extended tomorrow from their previous deadline of 6th of April.

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

Feature Image: Minister-president Rutte/Flickr

The RIVM has published the new numbers of coronavirus cases in the Netherlands. As of now, there are 11,750 confirmed cases in the Netherlands. This is an increase of 884 cases since the last count, with 93 more deaths as well.

The Netherlands is now in the top 10 countries when it comes to coronavirus cases, and the number is expected to increase over the following weeks.

2500 patients could be in intensive care within the next two weeks

Mathematical models developed by the RIVM suggest that by mid-April, we might have 2500 patients requiring intensive care.

Given that the Netherlands only has around 1100 intensive care units in the whole country, if they do not manage to import more ICU’s the odds are that the Dutch healthcare system will be overwhelmed.

However, it’s possible that the number of infections has started to flatten, so we might see fewer hospitalizations in the following weeks.

Passengers from New York allowed to enter the country without any additional medical checks

The United States is now the country with the highest number of coronavirus cases, exceeding even the cases in China. Passengers who arrive from New York, which is one of the epicentres of the outbreak in the US, are allowed to go through Schiphol without any medical checks.

This decision is not from Schiphol Airport, but to the government and their list of risk countries. Countries that are on the list are banned from landing in the Netherlands. Considering that now the US has the highest number of cases in the world, it could be probable that it might get added to the list soon.

Check out our coronavirus guide and video

If you want a centralized source of information, we have gathered up all info about the coronavirus in the Netherlands in one article, updated daily.

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

Feature Image: DutchReview/Canva

Over the past couple of weeks, the RIVM has been running different mathematical models to predict the spread and impact of the coronavirus in the Netherlands.

The models take into account the attempts taken so far to contain the spread of the virus, such as the new social distancing measures, reports NOS.

The RIVM expected to see the effects of the measures by this week, however, the numbers are less positive than initially thought. The most positive model made last week will not come to fruition, according to Jacco Wallinga, chief modeller for the RIVM.

What do the current models predict?

Initially, the models predicted there would 1000 ICU patients by the beginning of April, but that number has already been reached. The new models predict 2500 patients in intensive care by mid-April.

The issue now is ensuring hospital systems can cope with the number of patients. As of now, there’s only 1100 total intensive care beds in the Netherlands. Therefore, if the projection of 2500 patients is reached, the Dutch healthcare system will simply be overwhelmed.

The increase of numbers of projected patients is because the RIVM is now assuming that, on average, a patient will stay in intensive care for 23 days, rather than the earlier projected model which assumed 10 days.

Some good news

According to the RIVM, the flattening of the curve has started to happen. This number is primarily based on hospital admissions, but with this statistic, some time needs to pass before the figure is also visible in daily infection rates.

Essentially, now the odds of someone infecting other people is under one. Before the 16th of March, the rate was two. According to Wallinga, the growth rate has slowed down, but it’s still higher than initially anticipated. That means that the rate people are infecting each other is now less — therefore the curve is becoming less steep than without containment measures in place.

In Noord-Brabant, the rate of hospital admissions has slowed down over the last couple of days, and it is possible that the peak has already been reached there, especially given that measures were implemented there before the rest of the country.

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

Feature Image: DutchReview/Canva