Corona infections noticeable in the workplace, some catering establishments are forced to close

Due to the increasing number of corona infections among mainly unvaccinated young people, some companies are sending their employees, or part of them, home. This is possible as a precaution, to prevent infections, or because of medical necessity in the event of a quarantine obligation or a corona infection, according to a tour of the NOS.

This can lead to acute problems, especially in sectors where working from home is not an option. For example, some catering establishments are forced to close their doors completely – due to the staff shortage, employees cannot easily be replaced. Companies are especially noticing the consequences in and around Amsterdam, which has the highest infection rates in the Netherlands.

no cook

For example, the De Balie debate center in Amsterdam closed its doors last Friday, Sunday and Monday as a precaution. “On the one hand, we have our program side, where working from home is not that difficult in most cases, but also a cinema and catering facility,” says a spokesperson. “We had a problem with the second in particular last week. We have every employee do a self-test before a shift and a number of them were positive.”

The staff shortages in the catering industry meant that the infected colleagues could not be replaced, so the entire center had to close for a few days. The catering section is now open again, but not for food: there is no cook yet. “It is annoying that just now that we can open a little bit again, it has to close again. It is really walking on eggshells. Even if you stick to the rules, corona seems everywhere here.”

Koninklijke Horeca Nederland recognizes the signals, but cannot estimate how many businesses will close again. “Catering entrepreneurs are not spacious in terms of staff. Because they’ve been closed for months, a lot of people have flocked to other sectors and you’re not going to get them back anytime soon.”

‘Peak is over’

Student eatery Skek in Amsterdam is now open again after a weekend with closed doors. “We had a small crisis in recent days, because one of our employees had tested positive,” says Tessel van Willigen of the cafe. “A setback. You hope that you can run again in the weekends, and if you have to close for an entire weekend, that makes a difference.”

The ‘street manager’ of Amsterdam’s Reguliersdwarsstraat, where there is a lot of catering, also says that the peak there seems to have just passed: “Most businesses can open again, except club Nyx, but that is really a club, not a bar or restaurant. .” Nightclubs have been closed since the weekend due to the tightened corona rules.

–