The complacent and blundering Dutch response to Covid-19 is laid out in this massive investigative long read by @DerkStokmans and @Markla94.
nrc.nl/nieuws/2020/06…
nrc.nl/nieuws/2020/06…
Some details:
- due to restricted testing, the official figure of infections was 614 when an estimated 67,000-95,000 were infected
- national test and trace was calamitously abandoned on March 12, with the illogical justification there were too many infections to test in Brabant
- due to restricted testing, the official figure of infections was 614 when an estimated 67,000-95,000 were infected
- national test and trace was calamitously abandoned on March 12, with the illogical justification there were too many infections to test in Brabant
- despite warnings of shortages, the health ministry declined to order face masks in February
- Prime Minister Mark Rutte shocked members of the national crisis management team by announcing in a speech to the nation that the country would aim for 'herd immunity'
- Prime Minister Mark Rutte shocked members of the national crisis management team by announcing in a speech to the nation that the country would aim for 'herd immunity'
- the government only intervened after microbiologist Jan Kluytmans calculated 23,000 people would need intensive care
- by then, Brabant crematoriums were so busy they painted marks on the ground for families queuing outside; services were combined for siblings and couples
- by then, Brabant crematoriums were so busy they painted marks on the ground for families queuing outside; services were combined for siblings and couples
- intensive care units never reached the Italian scenario because Germany took in Dutch patients, capacity was doubled, and many elderly people died without being brought to hospital
- nursing home workers were denied tests and PPE for weeks and pressured to come to work when ill
- nursing home workers were denied tests and PPE for weeks and pressured to come to work when ill
- in March, the Dutch health ministry still did not know what national testing capacity was, and had to hire consultants McKinsey to find out
- nursing homes were told tests were not available because there was insufficient capacity, while testing machines were standing unused
- nursing homes were told tests were not available because there was insufficient capacity, while testing machines were standing unused
- the Netherlands ultimately had over twice the death rate of Germany and Denmark
- the public health agency RIVM refused to answer questions by the @nrc journalists when approached for comment about the details in their article
- the public health agency RIVM refused to answer questions by the @nrc journalists when approached for comment about the details in their article
Some of my own reporting on the calamitous early weeks of the Dutch response is in this thread.
Not about me, but I await corrections from those who accused me of 'fake news' and the columnist who mocked my reporting in a prominent Dutch newspaper
Not about me, but I await corrections from those who accused me of 'fake news' and the columnist who mocked my reporting in a prominent Dutch newspaper
A summary of the striking commonalities of the Dutch response with that of the UK
