More and more votes in the House of Representatives in favor of a mandatory mask

In the House of Representatives, more and more people are calling for masks to be made mandatory on a larger scale. Many parties now find the rules unclear. On public transport, travelers have been wearing a mouth mask since 1 June. Yesterday the cabinet announced that from today customers of shops in the regions of Amsterdam-Amstelland, Haaglanden and Rotterdam-Rijnmond are advised to use one as well.

And those regions and Brabant-Zuidoost themselves go a step further: they recommend a face mask for all public indoor spaces, including the catering industry, for example. A large number of shops have now said they leave it to customers how they handle the masks.

Shopkeepers are not police officers

Many parties in the House argue for a national obligation. Party chairman Jetten of government party D66 understands that shopkeepers do not want to play as “a police officer”, but he also wants to prevent a new lockdown. “That is why the cabinet should seriously consider masks inside in busy places”. And such a measure should then apply throughout the Netherlands. According to Jetten, one of the reasons for the lack of clarity is that there are now many differences between regions.

Opposition parties make similar voices. SP leader Marijnissen says that “nobody understands” what exactly the measures are. She believes that the cabinet is shifting responsibility too much and that there should be obligations, with possible minor exceptions for regions where it is really not necessary.

No means wasted

GroenLinks leader Klaver thinks the cabinet is far too unclear and the measures too non-committal: “You must apply the same rules everywhere: in public spaces where you cannot distance yourself enough, you wear a face mask. You just have to do that.” Klaver says that you should not leave any means unused in this crisis.

His PvdA colleague Asscher thinks the way in which the cabinet deals with mouth masks is weak. “They have said for months that it does not work, while it is mandatory in public transport and now you get the intermediate form that shopkeepers are asked to do. ” He too wants an obligation in all places in the Netherlands where the one and a half meters cannot be observed.

Nursing homes

PVV leader Wilders sees little in the duty of masks in the entire public space. “Outside of public transport, people have to know for themselves if they want to wear one.” According to him, the cabinet is not in order and the biggest problem is that care for people with diseases other than corona is in danger again.

SP, GroenLinks, PvdA and PVV also believe that mouth masks should be used in all nursing homes in the Netherlands. A member of the Outbreak Management Team said this morning that he does not consider a duty only in Rotterdam, The Hague and Amsterdam, as the cabinet wants, to go far enough.

Tomorrow the House of Representatives will debate the cabinet’s new corona measures.

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