Portugal, Spain, Croatia. More and more European countries are experiencing a revival of the corona virus. In order to contain these outbreaks, a regional or local lockdown is increasingly being chosen.
In the Netherlands, the time has not yet come, but the mayors are preparing for this. This is evident from tonight’s Security Council. The presidents of the 25 security regions meet every week to discuss the corona approach.
‘Learned from the first months’
“I myself estimate that a second wave in which the entire country will be hit may be absent,” says Wouter Kolff, mayor of Dordrecht. “When it comes back it will be a local or regional seat of fire. We are preparing for that. I think we will be ready for that eventually.”
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They also take this into account in other places in the country. “I think we learned from fits and starts from the first months. Now we are prepared for it,” says Ton Heerts, mayor of Apeldoorn.
What such a regional lockdown will look like exactly, that is not yet the case for the mayors. Theo Weterings, the mayor of Tilburg, expects that we should not stay inside again immediately. “But the facilities will have to close, we have to take that into account.”
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“We are actually going back to the first phase of damming, in which we try to keep a close eye on the virus with source and contact research,” says Heerts.
Biggest concerns after the summer
The mayors notice that it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep a distance. Mayor Marianne Schuurmans of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer notices that it is quite a challenge on the beaches. “Especially young people like to have a party. If we have a warm tropical summer, it will be exciting.”
However, the mayors think that the greatest danger is not in the summer, but in the period after that when everyone returns from vacation. “It may be summer vacation, but the corona virus hibernates at most. That’s why we have to stay on guard,” says Bruls.
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