At the beginning of September, the number of corona infections in the Netherlands was comparable to surrounding countries. But now the Netherlands is together with France and Spain in the top of European countries with relatively the most infections. This leads to some surprise abroad at the policy pursued here.
The many infections in our country are, according to a correspondent of the Swiss news site Blick, the result of holidaying young people who brought the corona virus with them from Spain, for example, and the many illegal parties that young people are said to hold here. Also church services with 600 visitors, who do not wear a mouth mask, are mentioned in the article as a possible cause.
Blick further writes that Prime Minister Rutte is unable to explain the importance of face masks. This is also noticed by other foreign media. The French newspaper Le Monde calls masks “the subject of a heated discussion” in the Netherlands.
‘Nonsense’ and ‘naive’
Flemish virologist Marc van Ranst also finds the situation in the Netherlands remarkable, but also compares it with that in Belgium. According to the Belgian health institute Sciensano, there are now 1050 corona patients in hospitals, while there are currently 1070 in the Netherlands. “Every week, Belgium and the Netherlands go up a step in the ranking of the most affected countries”, said the Flemish virologist today in the NPO Radio 1 program. News and Co.
Van Ranst sees that it has been thought for too long in both countries that infections among young people would not transfer to older age groups. “That was nonsense. The virus passes from young people to their parents and then to their grandparents, we see that happening day after day.”
Field epidemiologist and microbiologist Amrish Baidjoe works in Norway, where the number of infections has risen to about 150 per day. That is six to ten times less than in the Netherlands. He also sees that more and more elderly people are being affected here. “In nursing homes the number of infections is rising sharply. It is naive to think that you can separate populations from each other.”
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