And that while Prime Minister Rutte calls on not to go fun shopping and to go out only when necessary. “We are hardly allowed to do anything anymore. So what is allowed becomes more attractive. Getting a coffee to go is the new outing,” says Rick van Baaren, professor of behavioral change at Utrecht University. “What do you want to do? You have been at home all day and then you order. If you have not been out the door, you want to go out. It is very healthy to want that.”
“It is not prohibited. It is advice. If you do not want anyone to go out, you should ban it. Then people will listen.”
Rein Zwaan, team leader of the forest rangers in the province of Utrecht, also thinks it is sensible for people to go outside. “People are welcome to clear their heads in nature and get some fresh air, but they should avoid the crowded areas and recreate locally.”
Not enough nature in the west
This weekend it was “crazy busy” again, says Zwaan. “I get it. More and more places are closed and people want to get out anyway. Then they think: in nature I have the space. Well, sometimes then.”
Forest rangers also saw the increasing crowds in the first lockdown, only now things are getting out of hand, says Zwaan. “In the rush to the parking lots, things go wrong. It is extremely busy there. We call for you to only go to nature reserves where you can come on foot or by bicycle. But then we encounter a problem: it is normal to little nature to receive people. “
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