From next Friday cafés will be allowed to stay open until 01.00 and football stadiums can be filled to capacity again. In higher education the maximum of 75 students in a lecture hall will no longer apply but face masks will still be compulsory.
The government is going to relax the coronavirus measures, now that hospitals can cope with the present wave of COVID-19 infections. This also affects higher education institutions. As of 18 February, the number of students allowed in lecture halls and study areas will no longer be restricted.
Face mask remains mandatory
The face mask requirement for higher education will not change for the time being. Students and staff must always wear one in the hallways. If they cannot practice social distancing, face masks are also required in class. Higher education institutions are not using Covid passes and that will remain the case.
In theatres, cafés, cinemas and suchlike, where your Covid pass will still have to be scanned, you will no longer have to wear a face mask unless there are more than 500 people present.
The OMT experts will issue their recommendations before the press conference on Tuesday 15 February, but there will be no more changes to the rules. Health Minister Ernst Kuipers has already sent the proposals to the House of Representatives so that the members can quickly give their assent and the new measures can be introduced in a week’s time.
No longer enforceable
Municipalities, the police, the Public Prosecution Service and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) have told the government that dissatisfaction with the coronavirus measures is greater than ever and that enforcing the rules is getting more difficult.
Kuipers understands that. He acknowledges that youngsters in particular are having a hard time under the coronavirus measures. The relaxations will benefit their physical and mental health.
Translation: Taalcentrum-VU