In December, the country had imposed on the most stringent measures in Europe in the face of recrudescence of contamination in the Omicron Variant. The government will re-evaluate the situation in mid-March, he said.
Le Monde with AFP
“The country opens again,” said Dutch Minister of Health, Ernst Kuipers, Tuesday, February 15, at a press conference full of hope, although the Pandemic related to COVID-19 n ‘ is “not finished”. The Netherlands thus, in turn, announced the lifting, from the 25th of February, of most health restrictions, despite an ever-high number of contaminations in the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The sanitary pass will fall and the bars, nightclubs and restaurants will find their “normal closing hours”, as before the pandemic, announced the executive. Social distancing and masks will no longer be mandatory in most public places and the quarantine period in case of contamination will increase to five days.
“We can be optimistic but we must also be realistic,” said the Minister of Health. The Netherlands had imposed some of the most stringent restrictions of Europe in December after a soaring contamination to the Omicron variant, before lifting them gradually.
“Young people must be able to deploy their wings”
They now join countries like Denmark and Norway who lifted most of the restrictions. The Netherlands, which have approximately 17 million inhabitants, recorded an impressive number of more than 482,000 contaminations last week, nevertheless down 22% from the previous week.
The limits of the number of home authorized guests end immediately, just like the recommendation to always focus on teleworking, which goes to half the week. The bars and restaurants, which must now close at 10 pm, will be able on Friday to stay open up to 1 hour in the morning, like nightclubs, finally allowed to accommodate party grooms. “Young people must be able to deploy their wings,” Kuipers said.
Visitors will have to present a negative test to get to events of more than 500 people. Masks will only be mandatory in public transport and airport, also announced the government. Prohibitions of traveling in several countries outside the European Union (EU) will be abandoned, but travelers from member countries will always have to show proof of vaccination or negative test.
The Minister of Health has taken office in the new government of Mark Rutte in January and quickly reported that he wanted to bring the company back to normal. The Netherlands experienced violent events in 2021 against the restrictions related to the Pandemic of Covid-19, the police drawing semonce and injuring several protesters in Rotterdam (South-West) in November. The Dutch government will re-evaluate the situation on March 15, Kuipers announced.