The number of coronavirus infections in the Netherlands now stands at more than 500. A 68-year-old man is COVD-19’s 5th victim in the country.
According to the Dutch Health Department (RIVM), of these, 223 cases are from North Brabant. That includes a newly confirmed case at Sint Anna Hospital in Geldrop. This is the second COVID-19 patient in this hospital. One of these is in isolation and the other in intensive care at the hospital.
Since the end of last week, the visiting schedule at St. Anna has been tightened. Patients are allowed only one visitor per day. To try and prevent further infections, Eindhoven Mayor, John Jorritsma has called on, among other things, the cancellation of large events in the city until at least Monday. Institutions have heeded this call.
Muziekgebouw, Parktheater
The Muziekgebouw and the Parktheater have cancelled all performances until Monday. “The Muziekgebouw takes the health and safety of its visitors and staff very seriously. We believe the current situation calls for stringent measures’, a spokesperson from the Muziekgebouw says in a statement.
The Parktheater is taking the same measure. “We are now going to put all our energy into trying to move the performances that were to have taken place this week”. The Parktheater’s restaurant will, however, remain open to the public.
The Eindhoven Library has also decided to cancel all its activities this week. “The spread of the virus is something that we as a society must jointly tackle”, spokesperson, Cilia Groothuis, says. “That is why we have decided to take this step. We have to protect our staff too.”
Not enough staff
The library is also finding it hard to staff its facility. “We are largely dependent on volunteers. However, more and more of them are staying at home. As a result, not all posts can be filled. That situation also contributes to the decision”, Groothuis says.
For the time being, the library has taken the Taalcafé (Language Café) and various reading afternoons off the programme. People who had bought tickets for any of these activities will be refunded. The library will, however, remain open to visitors. But, there is are a minimum number of staff members. The library has also expressly asked people who are suffering from a fever, cough or cold, to stay at home.
And although the Mayor’s advice only includes this week, so far, The Eindhoven STRP Festival will not take place early next month. The organisation sites the coronavirus as the reason. The organisers say they want to follow the RIVM and Mayor Jorritsma’s guidelines.
Too risky
This art and technology festival released a statement. In it, the organisers say the health of visitors and residents is the most important reason to pull the plug for now. It is too risky for the festival to be held.
STRP Festival is going to set a new date. It is not yet clear when that will be. This year the festival would have been held in the city centre for the first time. For the 14 previous years, Strijp-S was the central location.
Not only are events being cancelled left and right, but there are also no flights to and from Italy either. Ryanair and Transavia have cancelled all flights to and from Italy because of the coronavirus. Ryanair flies from Eindhoven to different places in Italy. This airline will stop flying to and from Italy on Saturday. Flights will only resume on 8 April.
Transavia only flies to Bologna in Italy. Flights to this city will be discontinued until Tuesday, 31 March. A total of six flights will be cancelled. People who had bought tickets to Bologna can book a flight to another destination for free or get their money back.
Several individual flights had been cancelled in recent weeks. Ryanair already cancelled some flights to the north of Italy. At that time, there were ten fewer flights a week from Eindhoven Airport to Italy. All flights to Bergamo, Pisa, Naples, and Rome were cancelled.
Source: Various Studio040 articles
Translator: Bob
Editor: Melinda
