Almost everything closed again to keep everyone inside as much as possible. The so-called Omikron variant of the coronavirus is spreading quickly, so quickly that the cabinet announced a hard lockdown on Saturday, which will take effect immediately on Sunday at five o’clock in the morning. All educational institutions, shops that do not sell food, catering, gyms, hairdressers, museums, cinemas must close their doors, at least until January 14. The number of visitors at home is reduced to two. Only at Christmas and at the turn of the year may that number be increased to four.
Also read: The rise of the Omikron variant: five causes
“It is inevitable, we can’t wait,” said outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD), who also spoke of “perhaps the heaviest moment” in the corona crisis. The fact that the press conference took place on Saturday is unusual and therefore a sign of the urgency that the cabinet felt.
On Rutte’s side, Hugo de Jonge (Public Health, CDA) was also joined by Jaap van Dissel, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Control at RIVM and chairman of the Outbreak Management Team, which advises the cabinet on measures. He was present to underline how great the concerns are about the Omikron variant “There may be six or seven million people watching this press conference. That is why it is so important that Jaap van Dissel is also there,” Rutte said. “The knowledge, the national doctor, that he’s standing here and saying, guys, listen, there’s something really serious going on.” Whenever Van Dissel spoke, Rutte nodded in agreement next to him.
Big setback
Van Dissel explained that the built-up defenses of both vaccines and previous infection offer much less protection against the Omikron variant. “That is a major setback, which sets us back a bit.” He underlined the importance of the booster, which would provide that protection better.
According to RIVM’s calculations, the Omikron variant will replace the current Delta variant sometime between Christmas and the turn of the year. The number of infections doubles every two days. “There are still many uncertainties, I want to emphasize that. It can also be lucky, but unfortunately we have not had that often with the corona crisis.”
These uncertainties are in the properties of the new variant: it is, for example, still unclear how ill it will make you and how great the impact of the rapid spread will be on the number of people who eventually become seriously ill and end up in hospital. The hospitals are already full. More than a quarter are no longer able to perform all ‘critically plannable care’, such as cancer operations that must take place within six weeks.
Van Dissel also mentioned the willingness of people to take the booster shot as an uncertain factor.
Buy time
According to Van Dissel, the lockdown that will take effect on Sunday morning is necessary to “buy time”. Time in which more can be learned about the Omikron variant, so that it can be better anticipated, and in which everyone who wants to can get a booster shot.
Hugo de Jonge announced that all adults can make an appointment for a booster shot by 7 January at the latest. Both he and Rutte and Van Dissel emphasized the importance of that jab.
But that booster campaign is not going smoothly. The Netherlands is at the bottom of the lists of vaccination rates in European countries. There is no shortage of vaccines. De Jonge called the number of people who can do the injections and the shortage of manpower at call centers an ‘inhibiting factor’. On Saturday alone, he said, a quarter of a million phone calls to make arrangements went unanswered.
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Also read: Where the Danes and English keep a close eye on Omikron, in the Netherlands it only works in Amsterdam
Confidence at rock bottom
The government is taking the measures at a time when confidence in government policy is at an all-time low, according to the latest behavior survey by RIVM last week. That may explain why, despite the lockdown, which should reduce the number of contact moments, the cabinet does make an exception in the number of guests that can be received during Christmas and the turn of the year – that number is then four instead of two.
“The fewer contacts the better,” said Van Dissel on Saturday. “But there are considerations that make you opt for different numbers in special circumstances such as Christmas.” He was referring to “economic factors, social impact and socio-psychological factors” – and then adding that those are considerations made by the cabinet and not by the epidemiologists. Nevertheless, he also said: “We cannot all live like monks.”
Next Tuesday, the House of Representatives will interrupt the Christmas recess to debate the rules announced on Saturday with the ministers.
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source https://pledgetimes.com/a-new-lockdown-when-confidence-in-government-policy-is-at-an-all-time-low/
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