The one and a half meter rule will be released from September 25. The cabinet confirmed this last night in the press conference about the corona measures. According to Arie Dijkstra, professor of social psychology of health and illness, outgoing Prime Minister Rutte used “a psychological trick”.
“Rutte outlined in the announcement of the end of the measure how bad it was,” Dijkstra says in the newspaper NOS Radio 1 News. “He made that very concrete, and then said that that measure will be abolished. The ‘punishment’ was further exaggerated, so that the ‘reward’ is also made extra large.”
The second message was also clear, according to Dijkstra: “It’s not over yet. We have to learn to live with the virus.” He wonders how the disappearance of the one and a half meter measure will develop in the streets. “People who feel completely safe respect the wish of people who wear a mouth mask, don’t want to shake hands or keep their distance?”
Furthermore, De Jonge said in the press conference implicitly that a small group of unvaccinated restricts the freedom of a large group. “That was the most striking thing about this press conference. How such a statement affects the group of people who have not been vaccinated is the question. Some of these people will simply give in because of this pressure.”
According to the professor, these are people without “deep motivations”. According to him, the part that consciously chooses not to be vaccinated will feel more resistance. “You are now stigmatizing that group. That can lead to insecurity and anger.”
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