We're getting ready for live tweeting the press conference tonight. You can watch at 19:00 on the NOS.
youtube.com/nos
youtube.com/nos
Are you ready? We're not but we never are.
What are they going to talk about tonight? Good of you to ask. The prime minister is expected to say that secondary schools, cinemas, cafes and restaurants can re-open with limits on numbers, as outlined in the government’s road map two weeks ago.
There have been some leaks, which you can read if you're the sorta monster who likes spoilers. dutchnews.nl/news/2020/05/a…
We are starting with Prime Minister Mark Rutte. [Who has clearly had a bit of a trim]. "Today we have decided on steps until June 15."
He says that the number of transmissions and the hospital admissions have decreased.
He says that that has happened because we did what we were supposed to do, we kept to the rules. But we still must be vigilant.
If you have symptoms, work from home and stay home. Sneeze into your elbow, wash your hands. If we keep doing that, we will keep the spread lower.
He says happily we live in a country where we can give our opinion. And this has happened a lot. [Uh oh, Rutte has been checking his Twitter mentions.}
He says that he understands that there are frustrations. He says they have looked at specific groups as well as overall. This isn't a value decision but a risk assessment.
He says that not everything is concrete but things are up for discussion. [Feel free to tell him your opinions: @MinPres. Don't @ us]
To continue, what he asks is simple. Maintain 1.5 meter distance. Buildings can have no more than 30 people. There must be checks for symptoms at the entrance. This does not include places that are closed, they remain closed.
Horeca (cafes/restaurants) can open on 1 June. At noon. (No midnight parties folks.) You must maintain 1.5 meters distance except for people in a household.
He says that he realised that horeca was hoping to open for the Pinkster weekend but that's not possible because they expect a very busy weekend and it is too hard to enforce the rules.
Theaters and movie houses can have 30 people max with 1.5 meters. Museums can open again as of June 1 but people must have a ticket in advance.
Public transportation will resume a normal schedule, but this is only for necessary travel. And you must wear a face mask, including on the platforms. And maintain 1.5 meter distance.
As of June 2, the high schools will reopen, with the 1.5 meter distance. Not all students will be able to be at school at the same time. All children should have physical education and children should walk or cycle to school if possible.
Special education will open again as well, though some students may not be able to attend in person yet.
Primary school children will continue to go at half time until June 8 unless the research indicates that that should not happen.
Before and after school care will also open on June 8, and children will be able to attend all days.
MBO/HBO/exams can also resume.
Rutte says he wants to speak directly to the school students. "Corona has turned the country upside down."
"Most students have adapted very well," he says and he congratulates them for that.
He asks students for their ideas and creativity because no one knows what society will look like after this. He also asks for input from teachers and parents.
He ends by saying happy hemelvaart to everyone and asks everyone to keep abiding by the rules, as the peak of hospital admissions was only one month ago.
Now we go to health minister Hugo de Jongen.
He starts with a quote from theologian Abraham Kuyper. "Ruling is something else than administrating."
He says that maximum control of the spread, protecting the vulnerable and ensuring that healthcare can handle it has been the goal from the start.
Now that we have it under control, we can start to relieve some measures. But the virus is not gone. Everything that we do could cause a new resurgence.
From June 1, they want to make it possible for everyone with complaints to get a test. The time between infection and test should be as short as possible. If you have symptoms you should get tested immediately, not a day later.
People will be able to get tested at their local health service (GGD) after calling a national number. The GGD will also perform the aftercare, to check who you have had contact with and make sure you keep to the rules.
He says that hospital admissions show infections from two weeks ago, testing from a week ago. You want to be able to look forward.
He says they will make a dashboard, like in a car, which will check hospital admissions, IC admission, and positive tests. From this they will try to predict what will happen going forward. [Maybe they can try to predict lotto numbers too...]
He says there will also be checks with GP, voluntary info, information from businesses and survey data. Based on this, they will be able to decide what they can do going forward.
"We are on the road to a control phrase where we can live with the virus." [Lots of car metaphors here...]
For many people, he says, this is an incredibly hard time, worries about jobs, sadness over loved ones. We have seen many heartwarming initiatives.
He says they have to make it easier to visit loved ones in care homes. Step by step. They have started this in 26 homes across the country. From May 25, it will be possible to visit more care homes.
Visits will be with one person per inhabitant and only if they have no symptoms.
For the elderly who live at home, they can also have visits from May 25.
Everyone can spread the virus, he says, but everyone can help control it.
OMG IRMA HAS STEPPED DOWN AND WE HAVE A NEW SIGN LANGUAGE TRANSLATOR.
Now for questions. First question: Are you doubting about relieving measures?
Rutte says his favorite response: we have 50% of the information but we must make 100% of the decisions. "We have to make political decisions, grounded in science."
He says that the most important thing is for people to adhere to the rules and hopefully they can take new steps on July 1.
Another question: Do you think it's possible to open the borders? We are looking at how to handle the holiday period, he says. [These Dutch folks are just desperate to go camping in France.]
He says that they are looking into the risks in other countries, whether people will have to quarantine when they return, etc.
A question about testing to De Jonge: He says they are aiming for June 1 [Not Juno 1...]
Next question: Why don't we have all the information for the "dashboard" now?
De Jonge says that we see the numbers decreasing so we can relieve some measures now but that we know the numbers look back. Even if everyone gets tested, we can only look a week back.
[Side note: lol]
Follow up: We don't have all of the numbers but we are reducing measures. Is that wise? De Jonge says that we have enough insight.
There is a question about Brabant hospitals, which is where the worst of the outbreak is. De Jonge says there are now hospitals there with more space. They got hit first so they have a clearer view.
Another question about the dashboard. [This is a dumb term, we've decided.] De Jonge says that it will give insights about spreading areas so you can keep an eye on things like that.
Who is going to be responsible for the dashboard? [Ugghhh] The health ministry, says De Jonge, but that they will be working together with local governments and the justice ministry for security things.
Now there is a question about contract tracing. De Jonge says they need to hire a lot of people, they will need 30,000 tests. They agreed to have a national call center. We can do this he says but it is a lot of work.
De Jonge just keeps going on about testing.
Will the dashboard be public? De Jonge says yes, that it is important. Daily updates might be too much, he warns.
They plan to make most of the data public but they need expertise. They want to leave the analysis to the experts.
Who is going to interpret the data? The RIVM, De Jonge says. We know that only 38% of people wash their hands regularly. [OMG YOU DIRTY MONSTERS]
They will also be using public transport data as well as telecom data.
On what scale will the dashboard be presented?
They have decided on GGD (the municipal health care locations.) Data is on different scales he says.
Question about churches. The bad news is that singing is a risk Rutte says, and that the virus has spread a lot through churches.
Some religious services can work at a distance. [Is he talking about this?] theguardian.com/world/2020/may…
They must be careful, he says.
A question about how many people you can be with outside together? Rutte says three people, with 1.5 meter distance. If the group gets too big, it becomes an event. If you go with friends to a terrace, there's no limit but you must maintain 1.5 meter distance.
So four people aren't ok? Rutte says you won't get a fine if you're at a park with four people. [But five students on their own balcony will.] ad.nl/leiden/vijf-st…
Why are there no measures for August 1? Rutte says good question.
Two weeks ago, you said no dashboard. What changed? Rutte says there is a dashboard now, but it only has one number. R, the rate of the spread. And you can't make predictions basked on that.
Which number is leading? De Jonge says all the numbers are connected and you have to consider them together.
When does the control phase start? If the most important numbers are contained, then we will consider it the control phrase. In the control phase, you can live sort of normally.
There is a question about regions. Will there be different measures in different areas?
De Jonge says no, you can't close the bars in one place but not in another. That's a bad idea.
Another question about testing. You can get a test if you have complaints, De Jonge says. He also says that if you get tested when you don't have symptoms, the test is less reliable.
He notes that the testing process isn't painless.
If you're negative, can you return to the street? Yes, De Jonge says.
[The new Irma has great facial expressions, we might like her.]
Is there a danger we can't test everyone by June 1? De Jonge says no. It looks good.
There is a question calling it not culturally Dutch to do contact tracing. This refers to a remark made by a member of the OMT. De Jonge says there has been a discussion with the RIVM about how to do contact tracing.
Why do you speak to the kids, someone asks Rutte? [What even is this question] Because young people have a hard time with this, he says. And they are the future.
Is the dashboard for communication? [We're gonna need more gifs] No De Jonge says that it is for decision making.
A question about public transport. Who is checking for masks? The conductor, the BOAs (the police-lite), the people who check tickets.
What is the legal basis for the masks? Rutte says it's from the public health law and then proceeds to read out the law.
Do you feel like the public is corona-moe? [WE SURELY ARE, MISTER] Rutte says no. People have been tired of this from the start, not just now. But he says that he is really proud. He says that people mostly keep to the measures.
The journalist says that he doesn't see people adhering to the measures. Rutte says we have changed the advice from stay home to avoid crowds and people are doing that.
Rutte says that he isn't managing the population all the time. He hasn't been disappointed.
There is another question about regional differences and Rutte says no, they have decided on a national line.
Can differences exist between gemeentes? The rules 1.5 meter distance, only three people, terraces open, etc. Those are the rules. If there are more than three people they will be asked if they are a household.
Whew. That's it for tonight folks.
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