Mayors are divided on the extra measures the cabinet wants to take, despite the fact that the number of infections has started. “Let’s treat ourselves to cake because the infections are leveling off”, says Mayor Broertjes of Hilversum. Other mayors see the pressure on healthcare increasing and are in favor of extra measures. “Too busy hardware stores, is that still possible?”
The number of infections is now falling for three days in a row, but the cabinet will still come up with extra measures tomorrow evening at 7:00 PM. It does so because the pressure on healthcare remains too high. “The infection rate is still much too high throughout the country,” said Minister De Jonge.
Yet things are going better in one region than in another. The mayors of the Safety Regions are therefore divided over the strict measures that are on the table in the current plans, as it turned out during the walk-in of the Safety Consultation.
DIY stores closed?
Mayor Wouter Kolff of Dordrecht saw a lot of activity in the hospitals in his region last week. Last week, no corona patients were admitted to Albert Schweitzer hospital in Dordrecht for 24 hours. “And this week it was very busy again. It is a permanent point of concern,” Mayor Kolff told RTL Nieuws.
He sees a lot of hustle and bustle in shops and wonders: “That hustle and bustle in shops and DIY stores, for example, is that still possible in this day and age?” He advocates “measures that are most effective and that cause the least damage to society.” Such as setting a curfew.
Don’t refuel
There are also major concerns from the regions of Gelderland-Midden, Limburg and Twente. “We call on people to stay at home as much as possible. It is still too busy on the road. We also call on residents not to go to Germany. To refuel or to do some shopping”, it sounds from the Twente region.
Antoin Schoten, mayor of Venlo, also shares his concerns: “The number of infections must decrease more quickly. I am strongly thinking of additional measures.”
“Infections are increasing in our area. It remains a concern as long as we do not have a vaccine”, says Mayor Ahmed Marcouch of Arnhem.
‘We just deserve cake’
In regions where things are improving, there is criticism of the extra measures that the cabinet will announce tomorrow during the special press conference. The cabinet is considering closing museums, libraries, amusement parks, zoos and concert halls. The cabinet also wants to reduce the group size from 4 to 2 people.
Pieter Broertjes, mayor of Hilversum, does not like the fact that museums, music halls and zoo seem to be closing for at least two weeks. “I don’t really understand the reports about stricter measures. We should treat ourselves to cake,” he says. “The number of infections is leveling off in our region.”
