From 15 June, people living in the Netherlands can go on holiday again to some countries within Europe. Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, announced this during a press conference this evening. He did, however, say people must continue to observe the local rules. “Travel wisely,” he said.
Travel
The travel advice will be updated every week. The Dutch Health Department will give the Cabinet weekly advice on travel conditions. They’ll use colour codes to indicate this. Red is the most negative advice; orange means open only for most urgent matters, and yellow means there is a specific warning.
The travel advice for countries in the Schengen Area will be changed to yellow from 15 June. For Sweden and the United Kingdom, it’s still at code orange. In addition to the Benelux, other countries where people living in the Netherlands could go on holiday are Germany, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland. At the moment, no travelling outside the EU is possible.
-Red: no travel allowed
-Orange: only necessary travel
-Yellow: pay attention, safety risks
-Green: no particular safety risks, No Repatriation
The Prime Minister very clearly stated that the government isn’t going to repatriate people, who get stranded during a holiday because of a sudden coronavirus outbreak. “If you’re in a country and the country starts flashing orange, you must find your own way back.”
Primary schools open fully
The Prime minister also said primary schools would fully reopen on 8 June. From next week, half-day schooling at primary schools will stop. The Cabinet already had this date in mind, but opted for caution, in case the coronavirus was to flare up again. Research indicates this is still possible. “Reopening is in the pupils’ best interest. But we’ll keep a close watch.”
Demonstration in Amsterdam
Rutte thinks yesterday’s rally in Dam Square in Amsterdam was irresponsible. “The images show that everything didn’t go well there.” Participants didn’t keep enough distance from each other. That increases the chance of coronavirus infections.
Source: NOS.nl
Translation: Chaitali Sengupta
