News

The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte announced that our lockdown would be extended for three weeks (nltimes.nl, in English), moving the end date from 19 January to 9 February. Lockdown in the Netherlands means that all non-essential stores are closed, restaurants and cafés are closed, ‘through traffic’ places like libraries, museums, and amusement parks are closed.

Schools have switched to online education as well, although some students are allowed at school if they are deemed “vulnerable” or need to prepare for exams. Secondary education schools (students 12 and older) who are in the classroom are now required to adhere to the 1.5 meters distance rule in all situations. Previously secondary education students did not have to keep distance with each other, only their teacher.

The government considered implementing a curfew, however they have decided to consult with the Outbreak Management Team first before taking that step. It could still happen, but I think the government is trying to gauge public reaction before going there, because it could backfire.

The news is not all bad, though. Here is a look at the number of corona cases (the red line is the 7 day average):

We had about 5,000 cases today, 500 less than yesterday. But, the decline is too slow and the hospital and ICU intakes are not showing that much of a decline. The threat of the British variant of the coronavirus also looms. During the press conference the Minister of Health said there were about 100 recorded cases of that variant, with about half of them in the township of Lansingerland, not that far from The Hague. The township is currently working on testing all of its residents over two years of age–the first area in the Netherlands to do so (article in Dutch at nos.nl).

And really, there was a time back in early October when we were panicking because we hit 5,000 cases, so why should we accept 5,000 cases as a good thing now? Let’s just hope the downward trend continues.

There was another press conference from the Dutch prime minister this evening. The number of cases has been rising in the last week / week and a half, so it came as no surprise when Mark Rutte confirmed that the measures would not be relaxed. The number of guests allowed at Christmas and New Year’s festivities will stay at a maximum of three guests per day. He was also careful to point out that if the numbers keep getting worse, that the rules might become even stricter for the holidays. If there are more changes they will be announced at the next press conference, scheduled for 22 December.

He also poignantly stated that there will be about 10,000 empty chairs at the dinner table this year (a reference to the number of known corona-related deaths in this country).

Three guests for Christmas dinner, and tougher measures are on the cards from dutchnews.nl

Netherlands to first get 500K doses of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine; Half fewer than expected, also from dutchnews.nl. Previously it was reported that we would get 900K, with vaccinations starting on 4 January. Now vaccinations are scheduled for mid-January if all goes well. (But let’s face it: no one believed it would start on 4 January. From day one there were doubts with the government’s timeline.)

And for something completely different – the New Year’s Dive on 1 January in Scheveningen has been cancelled. Which means the main sponsor, Unox (a soup brand), decided to get a bit creative instead…

I don’t think it is quite the same. For one thing I doubt that the can of soup contains ice cold, freezing water which makes you question the life choices that led you to want to dip your fragile toes into the North Sea – but it is an interesting idea. If nothing else, it is a good souvenir of these crazy times. A souvenir that half of the country will also own and keep in their attics for 40 years, but I digress.

Most likely in 20 years one of these soup cans will be part of a museum exhibit about the coronavirus, so get yours now while you still can.

One of the weird things about The Hague that I read once in a while: there is actually a herd of Scottish highland cattle (English Wikipedia) hanging out in the dunes, in Westduinpark. In the summer they can be found in another part of The Hague: De Uithof. They can be viewed from a distance; visitors are asked to stay about 75 feet away and to talk to them so the animals know they are in the area. You can see some photos over at indebuurt.nl: De Schotse Hooglanders zijn weer terug in de Haagse duinen.

Another animal article, though not as positive: Covid-19 mink variants discovered in humans in seven countries from theguardian.com. The Netherlands was one of the first countries to report Covid-19 infections in mink, although it was infections from humans to mink. The mink fur farms in The Netherlands were due to be closed by 2024. After the corona crisis started, that date was moved ahead to next spring. There was talk of closing all farms by next month although that probably won’t happen.

I consider this way too ambitious, but the Dutch health ministry announced that they want to expand Covid-19 testing to 10 million tests every month (our entire population is under 18 million). The article is in English from nltimes.nl. Their goal is to allow everyone who wants it to get tested once a month, symptoms or no symptoms.

And finally an interesting story from nltimes.nl in English: Swedish sailor identified 25 years after body was found. It was a 25 year cold case, solved when Dutch authorities realized that the sailor had a few Swedish items in his possession. They contacted the Swedish media who placed information about the case in about 50 newspapers. A relative of the missing sailor saw the ad when she was up late reading the paper due to insomnia.