The number of new coronavirus infections in the Netherlands remains high, despite the measures being tightened up earlier this month. For this reason, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Minister Hugo de Jonge announced new restrictions at a press conference held on 18 August 2020.
Most rule breaches happen among friends and family
At the conference, the Prime Minister said that developments around the coronavirus in the country were not going well and if everyone was not vigilant, things would be back to square one in the foreseeable future. Mr Rutte explained that national measures are being tightened up as an attempt to prevent this.
According to the latest analysis done by the respective authorities, the rules are most often broken in the domestic sphere: at family gatherings, birthday parties or groups of friends getting together for a drink. This is precisely where the largest number of new infections occur and this is the sphere where further actions are needed.
The most important among them, the number of guests one can receive at home or in the garden is limited to 6 (this includes household members, except children under the age of 12). The host should ask in advance if everyone is feeling well or has any complaints before inviting them. The golden rule remains – keep 1.5 metres of distance.
For parties, drinks and other large gatherings choosing a catering room should be the preferred option, where there is more space and everyone has a seat, once again with preliminary registration and a check call. Space renting and catering establishment owners are asked to pay close attention to this, as this will be enforced with extra attention.
Finally, the quarantine period, so for anyone who returns from a “code orange” country, or has been in contact with someone who has Covid-19, will have to stay at home for 10 days, rather than 14. Naturally, authorities advise people to keep working remotely as much as possible, to stay at home and have themselves tested if they have symptoms, a rule that is valid for children, too.
Source: TheMayor.EU
