The Netherlands’ controversial curfew to curb the spread of coronavirus will end on 10 February, sources told Dutch newspaper NRC.
The curfew - between 9:00 PM and 4:30 AM - was the first in place in the Netherlands since World War II and spawned violent protests for several days in a row, one of them leading to nearly 200 arrests. People in Brussels protested against coronavirus measures as well on Sunday, which led to around 500 arrests.
The end of the curfew will reportedly be announced by resigning Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Hugo de Jonge at a press conference on Tuesday, according to NRC.
They are also reportedly set to explain the Netherlands’ exit strategy - that is to say which measures they will reverse in which order, pandemic figures permitting.
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The curfew remains part of the government’s measures, however, and can be reintroduced if the number of infections and hospital admissions rises again.
The number of people testing positive has been dropping since 27 January in the Netherlands, with 3,280 new cases in the latest update by the government.
In total, the Netherlands has counted 974,775 confirmed cases and suffered nearly 14,000 deaths to the virus, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
