Prime Minister Mark Rutte calls on everyone to wear a mouth mask in the public interior space. He said this on Wednesday in a parliamentary debate after a parliamentary appeal. This is an “urgent advice” that applies immediately. The exact details where it will and will not apply are still being worked out.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte calls on everyone to wear a mouth mask in the public interior space. He said this in a parliamentary debate on Wednesday after a House-wide appeal. This is an “urgent advice” that applies immediately. The exact details where it will and will not apply are still being worked out.
“In public indoor areas it is strongly advised to use a nasal and mouth mask. If you sit down, you can take it off,” said the prime minister. “So it is not necessary outside and it is not legally enforced.”
Public interior space includes all shops, museums and town halls. For contact professions such as hairdressers and beauticians, it is recommended that both the service provider and the customer wear a mouth mask.
Wearing a mouth mask will be added to the well-known basic rules: keep your distance, wash your hands and stay at home in case of complaints. According to the prime minister, it is not the intention that the waiver rule is no longer observed.
Rutte announced that the details of the advice will follow Friday. Whether a mouth mask advice will apply to schools, for example, is being examined further.
Criticism from Chamber for ‘unclear’ mouth masks advice
The amendment of the guideline follows a parliamentary appeal from VVD, CDA, D66, SP, GroenLinks and the PvdA, among others. The advice that the cabinet issued on Monday to wear mouth protection in shops in corona fireplaces in Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam would be too confusing and would also burden shop owners with enforcement.
Earlier in the debate, the House of Representatives asked for an end to the lack of clarity surrounding the wearing of masks in public spaces. “Do not pass on responsibility”, was the message of Lilian Marijnissen (SP), among others.
The cabinet is now listening to the wishes of the House and will adjust the advice issued on Monday two days later.
Rutte acknowledges: Should have intervened more firmly earlier
The House of Representatives debated on Wednesday about the approach to the second wave and the new national package of measures. Part of the House is very concerned and wonders whether the cabinet is too late to break the second wave.
Rutte acknowledged that two weeks ago the cabinet did not intervene firmly enough when the number of corona infections started to rise sharply. “The package of measures should have been firmer,” said the prime minister.
The prime minister responded to questions from PvdA leader Lodewijk Asscher, who wanted to know whether the new national measures announced by the cabinet on Monday would not come too late. Asscher pointed out that the number of positive corona tests has increased since the summer and believes that the cabinet should have intervened harder earlier.
Regional approach does not seem to work
Looking back, the Prime Minister acknowledges that a number of things have not gone well. The cabinet hoped to suppress new sources of infection in time with a regional approach. An alert model where regions are categorized as ‘vigilant’, ‘worrisome’ and ‘serious’.
With today’s knowledge, the Prime Minister sees that the measures for the regions have been “worrisome” “not strong enough”. The cabinet hoped to bend the curve by closing the catering industry at 1.00 am and limiting group sizes in banquet halls to fifty.
Initially, the idea was to link the regional approach to clear measures, a toolbox, which regions could deploy. However, that toolbox is still not filled. It also turned out that consultations with the regions hindered a quick approach.
Cabinet keeps curfew and extra measures to hand
Lilian Marijnissen (SP) wonders whether the new national measures are now sufficient. She refers to the advice of the Outbreak Management Team (OMT), the experts who advise the cabinet, recommending stricter measures to break the second wave.
Among other things, the OMT wants a curfew and recommends national advice on the use of mouth masks in public space. The mouth mask advice is now being adopted anyway, the cabinet is still keeping the curfew if it appears that the second wave is not turning around.
