Xinhua News Agency, The Hague, October 26th
Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Xiangjiang
Since the Dutch government announced at the end of September that most of the new crown epidemic prevention and control measures have been lifted, the country’s new crown epidemic rebound has gradually intensified, and the Dutch government has stated that it is considering restarting the ban.
The Dutch government announced new COVID-19 prevention and control measures on September 25, lifting most of the prevention and control measures. For example, to cancel the 1.5-meter social distance requirement in public places, it is only recommended to keep a certain distance; school teachers and students no longer need to wear masks, but they must wear masks when taking public transportation; entering bars, restaurants and other social and cultural places requires vaccination certificates .
The reporter recently saw in The Hague that, except for passengers on public transportation such as buses, light rails, and trains, who wear masks as required, very few people wear masks on the streets, train stations, and even in supermarkets and shopping malls.
With the relaxation of prevention and control measures, the number of new confirmed cases of new crowns in the Netherlands, which stabilized at an average of about 2,000 per day before and after the “unblocking”, has gradually increased. By late October, it had reached an average of more than 5,000 cases per day. Severe cases have also increased significantly.
According to the latest data released by the National Institute of Public Health and Environment on the 26th, since October 19, 38,733 new confirmed cases of new crowns have been added, a sharp increase of 50% over the previous week; 584 new hospitalizations have been admitted, an increase of 34% over the previous week; 110 new severe cases were added, an increase of 31% over the previous week. The data shows that the new cases are distributed across the Netherlands and in all age groups. The research institute believes that the substantial increase in newly confirmed cases may be related to the relaxation of prevention and control measures and seasonal factors.
Faced with the intensified rebound of the epidemic, the Dutch government held a cabinet meeting on the 25th to specifically discuss the epidemic. Health Minister Hugo De Jonghe said after the meeting that the epidemic rebounded earlier and faster than previously expected, and the government is therefore considering restarting the ban. He said that the Dutch epidemic is very complicated, and four-fifths of critically ill patients are not vaccinated.
It is reported that the Dutch government will hold a press conference on November 2 at which time it will announce whether to adopt new epidemic prevention and control measures.
According to official data from the Netherlands, 87.1% of adults in the Netherlands have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 83.5% of adults have completed the entire vaccination process. According to the latest data released by the World Health Organization, as of the 26th, a total of 20,825,563 confirmed cases and a total of 18,314 deaths were reported in the Netherlands.
Editor in charge: Yuan Danhua
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