Posts Tagged With: Coronavirus

There was a press conference yesterday evening, as always with the Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte and the Health minister Hugo de Jonge. This press conference was to discuss the next (hopeful) steps.

Set in stone:

• Higher education will be open from 30 August, with no social distancing
• Lectures are limited to 75 students maximum (to prevent large outbreaks)
• Testing is encouraged but not required

Possible, if all goes well, from 20 September:

• Social distancing is no longer required anywhere (but can be practiced if desired)
• Face masks are no longer required on public transportation (which means they are not required anywhere, although hospitals and corona test centers would probably still want to keep the rule in place for some time)
• Businesses that want to have more than 75 guests can use the Coronacheck app. This app generates a QR code which displays a green check mark if the user is vaccinated, has a recent negative test result or has had corona in the last 6 months.
• The strong advice to work from home where possible will be removed (they removed it for a few weeks in late June but it quickly came back during the last wave)

This will be decided and announced during a press conference on 17 September.

Possible, if all goes well, from 1 November:

• Night clubs / dance clubs will be allowed to open again
• The CoronaCheck app will no longer be needed for domestic use
• All Covid-related measures will be dropped except for the base rules (hand washing, staying home if you have corona-like symptoms, coughing and sneezing into your elbow, etc.).

The government has also launched a website, prikkenzonderafspraak.com (vaccination without appointment) for anyone who has not made an appointment yet. The website lists the sites that are open without appointment so that people can walk in at a time convenient for them and get vaccinated. You then book an appointment for the second dose.

I think there is a good chance that 20 September goes ahead, but it remains to be seen if all measures can be lifted on 1 November or not. The government’s reasoning is that everyone 12 years and up has had a chance to make an appointment, and that at some point we need to go back to “normal”. The main worry is that the 1.8 millions adults who don’t yet have a vaccination would all end up in the hospital in the fall, putting too much strain on the hospitals. We will have to wait and see. I do expect the numbers to start going up again–there is no way around it as measures are being lifted. However, hopefully the numbers will keep decreasing until 30 August when higher education opens up again so that the numbers are lower in mid-September.

Let me tell you, it is weird to walk into a supermarket and see only 33% of the workers and customers still wearing a face mask. Today the Netherlands dropped most of the corona restrictions: Full list of coronavirus restrictions as of June 26 from nltimes.nl.

It is weird to see others’ faces inside. I still have a face mask on, both for myself and others who aren’t vaccinated yet. It’s possible some appointments could be moved up but some of the younger folk won’t get their first shot until the first week of July and they second shot in mid-August. Right now the Netherlands has a 5 week gap between the first and second shots for Pfizer and Moderna, although maybe if we are lucky and there is extra supply they will bring the second shot forward to 4 weeks? We’ll see.

At this point you only need to wear a face mask on public transportation or in areas where you can’t keep 1.5 meters (5 distance) from others. As the prime minister Mark Rutte says, everything that is possible at 1.5 meters is allowed again. For instance you can go back to work 50% of the time if social distancing can be maintained. The sale of alcohol and marijuana is again allowed after 22:00 and there is no restriction on opening hours for restaurants or cafés.

One interesting thing is that night clubs are allowed to be open again, having been closed since March 2020 (!). Since social distancing is all but impossible, you either need to have proof that you are fully vaccinated or you need to take a corona test; the negative test can be no older than 40 hours old. Of course, to enter the night club you need to have your negative test result. One problem with that? Covid access testing waiting times caused by cyberattack from nltimes.nl. Yep, the testen voor toegang (tests for entry) platform was hacked yesterday causing some test results to arrive hours too late or not arrived at all. Most problems seem to be fixed today, at least.

Some other news:

Silent disco ended over noise complaints from nltimes.nl. What are silent discos, you ask? Everyone wears headphones while they listen to the music, making it seem like everyone is dancing to nothing. “Many people were shouting to one another in the house, according to the newspaper. Attendees were wearing headphones, and were unable to hear each other without raising their voices.” Opps?

Let out coronavirus frustration at Vijfhuizen “rage room” from nltimes.nl. Here is a snippet: “At the demolition site in Vijfhuizen, a special route has been set up allowing visitors to vent their rage for as little as 25 euros. It starts with smashing cups and plates on six stacked cars defaced with text such as ‘curfew’ or ‘work from home’. In the next part, visitors frustrated with working from home are able to unleash their anger by breaking a printer or a monitor.”

Hmmm…

For the American readers among us, Janssen is the J&J vaccination. The Netherlands has one of three factories in the world producing the vaccine. The name of the Dutch company producing it is Janssen, hence why it has a different name here in Europe. The distribution of the Janssen vaccine in the Netherlands (and Europe) isn’t that high, though. Here in the Netherlands we have received about 250,000 Janssen shots compared to 10 million Pfizer shots.

A month or two ago the Dutch government decided that due to the extremely rare risk of blood clots the vaccine would not be given to anyone under the age of 60. However, more recently the government decided to allow everyone 18 and older the choice to book a Janssen vaccine appointment, from today. There are 200,000 vaccines available. There are some advantages, especially for those who want to travel over the summer. You only need one shot and you can generally get a Janssen appointment much faster than two appointments for Pfizer or Moderna. Some lucky souls were able to book a Janssen appointment from this Friday. Otherwise that age group was looking at getting their second vaccine appointment in mid-August.

The government also makes it easy to switch your appointments. Everyone was encouraged to book mRNA vaccine (Pfizer/Moderna) appointments even if there was a chance you might want Janssen instead. Provided you haven’t received your first shot yet you are allowed to call and switch your appointment to Janssen, no questions asked. It has always been easy to switch your appointments here in the Netherlands, though it gets a bit more complicated if you want two different locations or you are re-booking your second appointment when you got Moderna during your first appointment since Moderna is much rarer here.

The thing is, the government announced a few weeks ago that anyone over the age of 18 would be able to book an Janssen appointment this week but that there would only be 200,000 doses available. A few days ago they announced that you could call from today, however the phone number to call wasn’t released until this morning. The government had 3,500 workers on standby to take calls.

…you can imagine the chaos, yes?

The Guardian reported that some Dutch vaccination centers are offering free pickled herring as an incentive to get the vaccine. June 15 is usually Vlaggetjesdag (Dutch Wikipedia), translated as “little flag day” because fishing ships would be decorated with flags on the Saturday before Pentecost. It is the day that the season’s first barrel of herring is auctioned off for a good cause and the day that herring starts appearing in supermarkets. Last year the first barrel was given to medical workers and this year the first barrel was given to the GGD health service; GGD is responsible for Covid-19 vaccinations in the Netherlands.

If you were lucky enough to be around IJmuiden you could also receive free herring after your vaccination (article from Haarlems Dagblad, but it’s behind a paywall).

In case you are wondering: I would politely decline if I was offered any. But for some Dutchies the first herring of the year can be a big thing.

First off: while the government has not officially announced it, the requirement to wear a face mask and the strong advice to work at home will probably disappear from 26 June. Two exceptions: you still need to wear a face mask in public transportation (but probably not supermarkets). You can also only go back to work if your office can guarantee that you are keeping the 1.5 meters rule (5 feet).

Dutch article from nos.nl: Mondkapjes af en niet langer thuiswerken mits 1,5 meter afstand per 26 juni

English article from dutchnews.nl: Have face masks had their day? They are up for discussion, minister confirms

My thought? It feels a bit rushed, on both counts. I’ve gotten used to wearing face masks (at least inside or on my way to somewhere inside). Working from the office? I’m not sure about that either. Previously my office said not before 1 September. But either way, they said people could work from home if they wanted through December, at which time the policy would be reviewed again.

In even bigger news: I got my first vaccination today (Pfizer)! I definitely felt the shot right away; it pinched a bit but nothing bad. My arm has been getting more sore throughout the day but it hasn’t affected typing or anything like that. I also have a bit of a headache, but as that started before the shot I’m not sure if it is related or not.