DUTCH GOVERNMENT TO RELAX COVID MEASURES: CLUBS MIGHT OPEN -

Good news for everyone in the Netherlands and for those who are about to travel here – the government will relax the COVID measures and nightlife might resume again.

Political reporter Arjan Noorlander stated that despite COVID numbers being likely to still increase, ICUs are not expected to be overly full anymore. Additionally, (booster) vaccination rates among the elderly are high, and a high percentage of young people had a COVID infection recently, which is why measures can be relaxed.

NIGHTLIFE CAN RESUME

With the fast spread of the lighter Omicron variant, the country will open up more. Noorlander stated that society will not be able to entirely go back to normal, but: “In concrete terms, you can think of fuller football stadiums, fuller theaters, and nightlife that could open again. But there is still an OMT advice coming, so nothing is final yet.” This Saturday (February 12), Dutch nightclubs will already open their doors in protest, but that could mean that clubs can open for good.

STILL WITH QR CODE

Although last weekend, a p etition started that calls for the abolition of the COVID QR code system, Noorlander thinks that it is still too early to get rid of that system. “But it is likely that more people with a QR code are allowed to enter the cafe and that the home visit scheme will also become a bit wider.”

Next `Tuesday, a press conference will take place where the relaxations are announced. We sure hope that this big step towards a normal life will actually take place.