In a number of cities, nightlife crowds have used corona wristbands this weekend to access restaurants and cafes. Hospitality visitors receive a wristband at a central point upon presentation of their QR code in the CoronaCheck app, which they can use to visit various occasions throughout the day. In Breda and Alkmaar there were already experiments with the tapes last weekend.
The corona wristbands came at the request of the catering industry. Outgoing Minister Grapperhaus of Security and Justice agreed to its use in a letter to the mayors on Wednesday. Scanning QR codes at the door remains the standard, Grapperhaus emphasized in that letter, but the cabinet allows that control can be done at one central point in clearly defined areas. However, the wristband may not be valid for longer than 24 hours and municipalities must ensure that the wristbands cannot easily be passed on to others, in order to prevent fraud.
Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN) is still taking stock of how the first weekend with corona wristbands went in several cities. Earlier this week, a spokesperson said that the catering industry is happy that more and more mayors are embracing the initiative. “Checking the QR codes can cause waiting times and unrest among guests. The strap system can speed up the check.”
Not in all cities
This weekend, following Breda and Alkmaar, more cities have introduced corona wristbands in places with many catering establishments. This happened in Leiden, Rotterdam, The Hague, Zwolle, Leeuwarden, Hoorn, Arnhem and Roosendaal.
In Utrecht and Amsterdam, catering establishments still check the CoronaCheck app at the door. The municipality of Utrecht is still investigating the possibilities of wristbands and in Amsterdam it will be decided at a later time whether the catering industry will work with the bands, according to a spokesperson against NH News.
The municipality of Oldambt has placed this shack on the market square in Winschoten to hand out wristbands to pub-goers:
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