Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Health) will give a definite answer on Tuesday whether new corona measures will be introduced in the Netherlands. De Jonge concludes that the number of positive tests continues to rise and that if this trend continues, additional measures are “inevitable”, he says. The minister made this statement on Saturday during the presentation of the CoronaMelder app.
Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Health) will give a definite answer on Tuesday whether new corona measures will be introduced in the Netherlands. De Jonge concludes that the number of positive tests continues to rise and that if this trend continues, additional measures are “inevitable”, he says. The minister made this statement on Saturday during the presentation of the CoronaMelder app.
De Jonge hopes this weekend for the daily number of new infections to level off. The cabinet will discuss the situation again on Sunday.
“The development of the figures is very worrying. It is clearly not going in the right direction. This is a trend that you do not want to see,” said the minister. “We are keeping a close eye on the figures and are preparing for further measures.”
These measures would then be announced on Tuesday. A press conference on that day has not yet been confirmed. The minister did not want to speculate on possible new interventions on Saturday. He emphasizes that the cabinet is really looking at the situation from day to day.
The last press conference on the coronavirus was almost two weeks ago. Then a limitation was imposed on the number of people allowed to come together. It was also announced that the catering industry must close its doors earlier.
On Saturday, the RIVM again reported a day record with 6,504 positive corona tests.
‘This weekend is crucial’
Prime Minister Mark Rutte emphasized during his weekly press conference on Friday that he would not hesitate to take new measures. “We are going to analyze the figures this weekend. That can be crucial. Whether that is the case depends on the latest insights and advice,” said Rutte.
“We are prepared to go much further if necessary to enforce other behavior,” said Rutte on Friday. The Prime Minister denies that the current measures are too informal. “The cafes have to close at 10 pm, you are no longer allowed to go to sports matches.”
The number of movements must be reduced, was Rutte’s message. The Prime Minister did not want to say anything about whether or not there is talk in cabinet circles about a curfew.
Corona app can be downloaded since Saturday
From Saturday, everyone can download the CoronaMelder app. The app gives a notification if someone has been around an infected person for some time, who then has to enter it on their own app. All data is anonymous.
The app has been available on trial in some security regions since August. Until Saturday, the CoronaMelder had been downloaded 1.5 million times, according to the ministry.
