Virus crawls up, but according to RIVM we still don’t have to worry. “We are prepared.”
If you call RIVM spokesperson Ron Beekman with your most pressing questions, all possible corona worries will disappear like snow in the sun. He certainly understands that many people are starting to worry now, because Italy is feeling so close, and the virus seems to be getting closer and closer to new infections in Spain (including Tenerife), Austria and Switzerland. “But not necessary, we have a good structure here in the Netherlands. If you come back from a risk area and you don’t feel well, then you report to the GGD in your region and they know exactly what to do. ” In short, the proverb “nip in the bud” fits perfectly in this situation, “the virus is being tested and, where necessary, someone is placed in quarantine and monitored for symptoms.”
Structure
He works for the National Coordination for Infectious Disease Control (LCI), which is part of the RIVM. Their task: to prevent or combat infectious diseases and virus outbreaks in the Netherlands and to inform the public. What does a day at LCI look like in these times of corona distress? Beekman is the first to emphasize infectious diseases Core business is for them. “We have a wealth of expertise here. We have been working on infectious diseases for years. ” He lists the “sick list”. SARS, Swine Flu, Ebola, MERS. “It is for that matter business as usual, but of course it is a lot busier now. We receive a lot of calls from healthcare professionals such as the GGDs and we do everything we can to equip them. ” And by equipering he mainly means “providing all correct up-to-date information so that GGD’ers can do their work.” Dozens of employees work 24/7, from doctors to biologists and spokespersons, and it is also the talk of the day for them. “Everyone is alert, we all put our shoulders to the wheel. Our core task is to fight infectious diseases, but so far there is no outbreak here and the focus is on prevention. But we are prepared. “
The Netherlands locked?
Whether a national emergency campaign à la “close doors and windows and put on a mouthpiece” is ready when the virus reaches our country? No, he shakes his optimistic head on the phone, “we have all sorts of plans with measures, but I want to emphasize once again that the regional GGD structure is very good and that action is taken very quickly within it.” When asked whether we can “lock” an entire village or entire city here, just like in Italy, he answers cautiously. First of all, the situation there is very different because they do not know who the source of the disease is and therefore have to take such measures, which he understands very well. “But we don’t want to say anything else about it because it can cause a certain and unnecessary unrest. We can already see that people worry and that is also possible, it is also very much alive, but at the moment it is one lockdown absolutely not a realistic image. ”
Insufficient knowledge
The Red Cross expressed its concerns on Tuesday. “Many Dutch people have insufficient knowledge about the use of mouth masks”. Their research showed that two out of three Dutch people have no idea that with incorrect use of the mouth caps, for example by touching the outside after wearing or very often wearing the same cap, the risk of coronavirus infection is increased. . “There is talk of an epidemic, but the challenge is also very much in the” infodemia, “says Frido Herinckx, a Dutchman who coordinates the corona relief efforts of the Red Cross worldwide. “Wrong information is spreading enormously fast via social media. People are worried, that makes sense. People all over the world wonder if they are at risk. “
Informal caregiver / caregiver
The question is whether you really need a mouthpiece. More than half of the respondents think that it is important in countries where the corona virus has been detected to wear a mouth cap constantly, but that is not the case, says a spokesperson for the Red Cross Netherlands. “If you are healthy, you basically do not have to wear anything, unless you are an informal caregiver or counselor.”
It repeats a number of times that it concerns ‘several measures’. So if you are in or going to a risk area, wash your hands with (disinfectant) soap where and when possible, cough in a paper handkerchief “and throw it in a sealed trash can” and otherwise in your elbow. “Wash your clothes well afterwards.” 71 percent of the Dutch think it is not recommended to travel there with the means of transport in which you are close. That is not entirely true, she continues, “but if you choose to do so, keep a little distance, certainly with people with symptoms of course.”
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