Prime Minister Mark Rutte ‘thought and hoped’ that the corona measures would have yielded enough to offer the catering industry the prospect of reopening. However, the maximum 10 IC admissions per day are not yet in sight, and so the catering industry will remain closed for the time being.
Only after a maximum of 10 IC admissions of corona patients per day can it be considered to reopen (parts of) the catering industry, Rutte emphasized in the press conference on Tuesday evening.
Experiments in sports and culture
“We thought and hoped to be there by mid-December, but that will now be at least a month later,” he said. “And actually you’d rather go to 3 IC shots per day.” When a maximum of 10 corona patients come to intensive care every day, the restaurants will probably be able to do something again, Rutte outlined. “The cafes, the wet catering industry, a little later. People are more likely to stand on top of each other there.”
In January experiments will be conducted with more audiences in theaters and at sporting events. The idea is that this will enable sectors to prepare for the moment that the 10 IC admissions have been reached. That way they know what works and what doesn’t. Rutte: “These are very specific tests, on a small scale and regionally.”
Stricter measures
The number of corona infections has increased every day for the past week, except Tuesday. Then there were slightly fewer infections: over 6,000. The number of Covid patients in the hospital rose to 1,700, 464 of whom were in intensive care.
For the time being, the cabinet is not taking any additional measures to stem the number of infections. But, Rutte warned, if the number of IC admissions continues to rise, it is possible that stricter measures will be taken before Christmas.
