The new Health Minister Ernst Kuipers (D66) was skeptical tonight about letting go of the lockdown (just like his predecessor last week). “There is now very little room to relax a lot,” said Kuipers in conversation with journalists shortly after the new ministers were sworn in. “The number of infections is high.” If that increases even further, society threatens to disrupt because many staff are then infected or quarantined at home. Nevertheless, the minister wants to look at ‘what is possible’, for which new OMT advice will first be issued.
The members of the Outbreak Management Team will meet again on Wednesday about the latest forecasts of the RIVM, there will be a Catshuis consultation on Thursday. The decision will follow on Friday and there will be another press conference.
Kuipers and his colleagues are in front of the block: the call for relaxation is loud, especially at sports clubs, shops and catering. But at the same time, the OMT outlines that caution is advised. Although the new mutant results in ‘half to two-thirds’ fewer hospital admissions, the number of occupied beds is increasing in countries where the omikrone peak was approaching earlier.
#corona #minister #skeptical #quick #lockdown #space