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The Netherlands largely lifts lockdown: shops are allowed to open again (but catering will remain closed for the time being)


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The Dutch lockdown is largely lifted. Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced this on Friday evening.

Shops are allowed to open again from Saturday until 5 pm, and supermarkets and essential shops until 8 pm. Although with a mouth mask obligation, social distancing, and with a maximum of one customer per 5 square meters. Contact professions such as hairdressers or sex workers can also receive customers again, under the same conditions as the shops. Sports are also allowed again, both inside and outside (but without an audience). Education will also open completely again and can continue full-time physically. From Saturday, the Dutch can again receive four people at home, instead of two. However, one is not allowed to visit more than one household per day.

The catering, event and cultural sectors will remain closed for the time being. “From all sides” the pressure is increasing to relax the corona measures, Rutte said. “And I understand that. Following the advice of the Outbreak Management Team, we see room for letting go of rules, but that does not yet offer solace for all sectors. The catering industry, the event sector and the cultural sector must remain closed for a while.”

Rutte emphasized that not everything can open at the same time. The infection rates are simply too high for that. With the relaxed package of measures announced by the government, the daily number of infections could possibly rise to 75,000 or 80,000 per day. “Those are huge numbers,” said the prime minister.

Use mouth masks

The government also wants to encourage the use of medical mouth masks, said Health Minister Ernst Kuipers. They are therefore not mandatory, but they are urgent advice. The number of places where it is recommended to wear mouth masks is also being expanded. Wherever it is not possible to keep 1.5 meters away, it is recommended to wear a mouth mask. This applies, for example, to busy outdoor public places, such as shopping streets. But also in the workplace. The advice is also to wear a disposable mouth mask from now on. Fabrics and homemade mouth caps are not recommended.

On Tuesday 25 January there will be a new “weighing moment”, with the catering and cultural sector as priority.

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