Eindhoven Mayor, John Jorritsma, appeared irritated on Tuesday evening.
That was with questions from D66 about the masks. The Mayor says that, in this crisis, it isn’t possible to check with the city council about everything. That was after a question from Robin Verleisdonk, D66 chairman.
He asked Jorritsma why the Mayor had changed his mind about masks. And why the municipal council had to hear this from the media. Why had they not known in advance, asked for their opinion?
Things change fast
“You should spend 24 hours with me,” answered a visibly irritated Jorritsma. “Then you’ll see how things change from hour to hour. A and what problems we’re facing.”
“We had an urgent meeting with the (Dutch) Cabinet about the new situation this weekend. It was very stressful. Yesterday, I was busy all day until 03:30.
“We’re in a crisis, and I have to act. That’s my job as chairman of the regional security council,” Jorritsma retorted.
‘Impossible’
The Mayor says he can’t take city council with him everywhere. And he can’t get their opinion, in advance, about every little thing. “That’s impossible.”
“I have to deal with 20 colleagues, who are on 20 boards and 20 councils. If we want to combat the crisis in this way, we might as well give up. That would mean we’d lost against this virus,” Jorritsma says.
On Saturday, the Mayor suggested considering making masks mandatory. That was in the Eindhovense Dagblad, a local newspaper. After Monday evening’s cabinet press conference, Jorritsma urgently advised retailers to introduce a mask rule in their stores.
As did three other regional safety councils.
Source: Studio040
Translator: Bob
Editor: Melinda Walraven
