Wienen: no reason for panic

The age of the infected man is not known to the GGD Kennemerland, but it is known that the man is “not an old man”. A spokesperson on behalf of the Kennemerland Security Region said so. The patient is currently in home insulation. The GGD monitors the family and maps the contacts that the patient has had through a contact investigation.

Mayor Jos Wienen says about this first illness in Haarlem: ,, It is relatively fast. There are larger municipalities where it has not yet been established. But Haarlem is of course a big municipality. It is very annoying for the patient concerned. We are well prepared for the measures that you can take to be taken. But that does not offer guarantees. “

Wienen, who visited the Mendelcollege yesterday, was informed at the end of the afternoon on Monday. He acted immediately. ,, You ask how the insulation works. Are there indications and that more people might be infected? What measures do we take and how do we do communication? Do we make it known nationally? “”

The latter was abandoned after careful consideration. ,, Because the number of cases of infection is increasing rapidly. That is why Haarlem has announced it in a quiet message. We also informed the council in the evening. “

Worrying

As a mayor, Wienen mainly keeps an eye on communication. ,, For the rest we follow national policy, the mayor plays no role in that. But I do supervise the proper functioning of the GGD. We are kept informed by the GGD of all developments in the region. That goes very well. “

Whether he finds the situation in Haarlem alarming? ,,No. The disease is disturbing. You can’t vaccinate people against it yet. On the other hand: there is no reason to panic. We know that the disease is there, that it is very contagious, and that you can take measures to reduce the risk of infection. It seems that in some places the panic strikes in such a way that the damage it causes may be at least as great as the damage from the disease itself. It is important that people know what the things are that you should pay attention to. What to do when you see or feel something. “

What if a case of illness occurs at a school like the Mendelcollege? Rector Jan-Mattijs Heinemeijer is sober about that. ,, I am the director of a school, I literally follow what the RIVM or the GGD says. If a child or a teacher is infected, the protocol is that it must be quarantined. If the GGD advises that the school must be closed, then the school must be closed. So I just wait, I don’t find it very complicated. This is the conversation at the workplace. A teacher in Northern Italy has recently been on vacation. He asked me: what now? I say: are you sick? No? Just working. If a parent says: I don’t like it, I keep my child at home, good too. “

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