The Dutch government revealed its road map toward a full reopening as infections start to fall from record levels.
Cultural venues and restaurants will have their daily closing time extended to 1 a.m. from 10 p.m. starting Friday, Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kuipers said on Tuesday in the Hague. The second step of easing the country’s restrictions will take place on Feb. 25, with all venues returning to normal hours of operation.
"Everything will open, not in one go, but in steps,” Kuipers said in a televised briefing. "We are more resistant to the virus thanks to vaccines and booster jabs and thanks to the immunity that people have built up when they were infected.”
Mask-wearing and 1.5-meter social distancing rules will be lifted and a Covid-19 pass will no longer be required to enter most venues. People will still need to provide a negative test result for events with 500 or more participants. The government also eased its work-from-home guidance, advising that people should only do so half of the time.
"The peak of this wave of contamination seems to be behind us,” the Dutch national health service RIVM said Tuesday in a statement. The average of confirmed coronavirus cases in the past seven days has dropped 22% from the prior week and the number of hospitalized patients fell 18%, RIVM said.
