In the four major cities, there will be no extra enforcement from Monday to catering establishments, if they are allowed to open again from 12 noon. Spokesmen from Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht let NU.nl know. Boas only intervene in “excesses” and much is left to the responsibility of entrepreneurs and customers themselves.
In all four major cities, catering establishments are not monitored more closely and no additional boas are deployed.
“We do not go to terraces with a tape measure and we do not go to every table to ask whether your customers can prove that they belong together,” said the spokesman for Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb.
“Boas are responsible for enforcement in public spaces, but not for the situation in a company,” said a spokesman for the municipality of Utrecht. “If there are rows in front of a store, the entrepreneur is responsible for that. Boas also absolutely do not go into restaurants to count people.”
‘People are already following the rules now’
According to the spokesman for Mayor Jan van Zanen (Utrecht), that personal responsibility can also be demanded from entrepreneurs. “When the first corona measures were introduced, everyone also thought that people would throw parties inside. But in practice, you see that people generally stick to the measures very well. We assume that entrepreneurs also use their common sense.”
When a municipality receives a report of a situation that does not go according to the rules, boas or police officers go there to check. “They first speak to people, then give a written warning and if there is really no other option, they give a fine,” said the Utrecht spokesman.
Bruls: ‘We deal with the catering industry as always’
Hubert Bruls, chairman of the Safety Council, also points to the responsibility of customers and catering entrepreneurs. “The ball really lies with people themselves. We only act on excesses and we are not going to check per table.”
“Only when things get out of hand and problems with public order arise does the police or municipality act. Actually, as we normally do with the catering industry,” says Bruls.
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