Weekly Update: News on Japan & the Netherlands – Week 20, 2020

“It is very important not to draw in people (from outside) in preventing the spread of the virus,” said Tokushima Gov. Kamon Iizumi at the outset of the teleconference of the National Governors’ Association he heads.

The association urged the central government to disclose the criteria it uses to determine which areas remain under the state of emergency and which do not. It also called on the state to take specific measures to prevent cross-prefectural infection, such as not allowing people to board aircraft when they have a fever and cooperating with railway and other transport operators.

The proposals also included a request for the central government to continue providing aid to hard-hit industries in the post-state-of-emergency period and to swiftly compile a second extra budget for fiscal 2020 to finance the stimulus.

Japan has conducted 188 PCR tests per 100,000 people, compared with 3,159 in Italy and 3,044 in Germany, data from a panel of medical experts advising the government showed last week.

Tokyo confirmed 28 new cases of coronavirus infection on Tuesday, marking the seventh straight day the daily tally has stayed below 40.

Abe has called for Avigan to be approved for use by the end of this month if the trials are effective — unprecedented speed, particularly for a drug known to cause birth defects. The use of Avigan is decided by doctors and its approval will depend on medical and scientific evaluation in due course, said Fujifilm spokeswoman Kana Matsumoto.

Public health centers and others will inform individuals who receive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests of the system’s URL, their ID and passwords. The user will type in their name, home address, history of travel, symptoms, result of the test and other information.

People who tested positive for the new coronavirus and are staying at home will be asked to access the system every day and input their health condition. Medical institutions will input information on those who are hospitalized, such as their symptoms and the circumstances surrounding their admission and discharge.

Furthermore, individuals who came in close contact with coronavirus patients will also receive IDs and passwords, and will be required to type in their health condition. By doing so, coronavirus patients’ information as well as the number of new infections and those released from hospitals can be swiftly collected and widely shared, according to the health ministry. So far, doctors have been filling out information on coronavirus cases and sending the information via fax to public health centers. Workers at these facilities have been inputting the information using computers. Some have pointed out that this method is inefficient.

The health ministry is also set to introduce “G-MIS,” a system to support coronavirus-related information-sharing among medical institutions. Information on operational status, as well as circumstances surrounding hospital beds and medical staff, stocks of ventilators, masks, protective gear and other items of some 8,000 medical facilities nationwide can be collected and uniformly managed. The system will be used to supply medical equipment and manage the transferring of patients to hospitals.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice and Security refuses to discuss KHN’s ideas. “Conversations are still ongoing, but from our point of view, all 30 people will have to keep 1.5 meters away, including at the table.”

In the KHN protocol published on Tuesday, which can still be adapted, the trade association states that a maximum of four people who do not come from the same household may sit at one table or bar without keeping 1.5 meters away. They should be seen as an “exception”, but according to the spokesperson that is not the intention: “They should keep a distance from each other and the rest of the guests.”

Those who are from one household, regardless of the size of the group, can join together. KHN wants these groups to be exempted from the distance rule. At the end of May, KHN expects new regulations from the cabinet regarding the 1.5 meters rule.

Last week Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that no free masks will be distributed. “The masks that are necessary for the public transport can be made or bought by people. We will make all information available. The expectation is that these costs are not really prohibitive.”

The zero rate only applies to ready-made masks, the discount cannot be applied to materials with which homemade items are made, such as fabrics and elastic, says a spokesperson for Vijlbrief. There is also no guarantee that the masks will actually become 21% cheaper for consumers, it is up to the sellers whether they also pass on this discount to the buyers.

Lowering the VAT on masks to 0% is different from an exemption. For example, sellers who still pay VAT when purchasing can settle that amount against the tax. Some tax measures for the medical sector were already relaxed in mid-March.

Most others will follow at the end of May. “All holiday parks work entirely on the basis of government and RIVM guidelines, and various adjustments have been made,” the company says. The swimming pools will also be reopened, as a time lock will be used, so that measures such as keeping a distance would be sufficiently guaranteed. “The decision to reopen the parks was prompted by the relaxation of the government’s corona restrictions,” said Center Parcs.

Walking routes have been added, the staff has received additional training, the check-in process has been made fully digital and visitors can disinfect their hands in various places. “We have checked whether the conditions have been met, it also depends on the behavior of the employees and guests,” says the Kiwa spokesperson. “That’s not what the certification is about.”

The funds are normally mainly concerned with providing subsidies to, for example, artists or theater makers. According to the Dutch Cultural Participation Fund, support mainly focuses on projects, work and assignments for people in the cultural sector.

The cabinet has already said that training will become an important part of the new package, as will a ban on dividends and bonuses. According to sources from The Hague, this is not expected to happen this week. It is a complicated puzzle.

Minister Koolmees of Social Affairs and Employment Incumbent has also stated to remove the dismissal fine from the second support package for companies. “If companies that receive support are not allowed to fire anyone, they will still go bankrupt,” he said.

The minister is afraid that companies will fall over if they continue to pay staff that they no longer need them in the long run. “For some companies, which is unfortunately the reality, the future looks bleak. Companies should be given the opportunity to adapt to the new reality.”

The second aid package, which is scheduled to take effect on 1 June, does include a scheme for retraining employees of companies who continue to struggle in the longer term with the consequences of the crisis. People cannot just be fired. “The dismissal law still exists,” says Koolmees. There must be good reasons to dismiss an employee or the company must be in serious financial trouble.