Health regulations imposed as a result of the coronavirus crisis are being relaxed in the Netherlands, starting from today/Saturday.
These include the wearing of face masks, which is now no longer compulsory in places where social distancing can be respected. However, they still need to be worn in public transport, taxis, stations, airports and higher education establishments, according to the Dutch government.
Public places are now authorised to reopen, as the government announced last week, meaning nightclubs can again welcome patrons, if they have been vaccinated or have tested negative.
Hospitality industry establishments can also opt to restrict entry to persons with certificates showing that they have been vaccinated or have tested negative, if they wish to be exempted from the requirement to maintain a distance of 1.5 metres between customers.
Additionally, there is no longer any limitation on the size of groups, whether indoors or outdoors. Amateur sporting events are once again authorised, and employees able to work from home only have to do so for half the week.
The relaxations took effect at midnight but had already been authorised from 10:00 PM on Friday night. They result from an ease in the transmission of the virus, according to the government, which attributed this to weather conditions as well as progress made in the country’s vaccination campaign.
Close to 15 million doses of a vaccine against Covid-19 have been administered in the Netherlands, which has roughly 17 million inhabitants.
The Brussels Times
