Rutte: “Stop shaking hands” | Interior

The prime minister had a crisis meeting on Monday with ministers and experts at the Ministry of Justice in The Hague. Rutte calls on all Dutch people to adhere to the existing hygiene measures. “This will really take some time,” Rutte said in a press conference after the meeting. “This seems to be a sensible measure and helps to curb it further.”

The cabinet also asks people from Brabant to work at home for the next seven days if possible.

According to the prime minister, heavier measures are currently not necessary. “We are a sober people. We are not waiting for symbol measures. These are useful measures. “

The most involved ministers in the so-called Ministerial Crisis Management Committee (MCCb) will meet more often. There are also likely to be more measures, the prime minister expects. These are announced from the moment they are needed.

The Netherlands is still in the “containment phase”, Rutte emphasizes. The Dutch are sober and are not waiting for symbolic measures, but it is good to follow the general advice. In addition to stopping shaking hands, Dutch people should wash their hands more often, sneeze their elbow and use paper tissues, the prime minister said. Restricting the corona virus “will only work if you do this with 17 million people.”

Rutte gave the press conference together with Jaap van Dissel, the director of the RIVM. Afterwards, the prime minister immediately ignored the emergency measure when he accidentally gave Van Dissel one. “Oh, you can’t do that anymore!”

Political reporter Alexander followed the press conference after the crisis meeting. His live tweets can be found at the bottom of this message.

The number of diagnosed coronavirus infections in the Netherlands has now risen to 321. Three patients in their eighties have succumbed to the virus.

–