- The total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Netherlands stood at 43,211 on Wednesday 13 May, health officials said, with a total of 5,562 people who lost their lives as a result of the disease.
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- The hotel and catering industry (Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, KHN) urges a relaxation of the measure regarding people from the same household to give the catering industry more air in the event of a possible reopening at the beginning of June.KHN wants people who form a household to be able to join tables without having to keep a distance of 1.5 meters.”If they are allowed to walk side by side on the street or sit together in the car, they should be able to do the same in the catering industry,” said a spokesperson in conversation with NU.nl.
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.
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- Between 25 May and 1 September, there will be no 21% value added tax (VAT) on medical and non-medical face masks. The Ministry of Finance announced this on Wednesday 13 May. As of 1 June it is mandatory to wear a mask in public transport as trains and other public transport will operate again according to the regular schedule. Because travelers in full trains, buses and trams cannot keep a distance of 1.5 meters from others, the Cabinet is offering this temporary discount.On 20 April, the CDA had asked the cabinet to exempt masks and other personal protective equipment from customs duties and VAT. “We are asking society to start wearing non-medical masks on public transport from June onwards. Many people already make very creative masks themselves, but most will probably buy them in a store nearby,” says State Secretary Hans Vijlbrief (Finance) in a comment. “As a government, we naturally want to make this as cheap as possible, which is why we will temporarily levy no VAT on this,” says Vijlbrief.
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.
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- Certification company Kiwa has developed a new quality mark to test companies on the measures they take to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Center Parcs is the first company to receive the quality mark and are able to reopen their holiday parks. Both companies will announce this on Wednesday.Kiwa says it has developed the quality mark based on the guidelines of RIVM and international standards. The institute has tested the manual that Center Parcs has made against the guidelines, and they will perform regular checks. With the seal of approval in hand, Center Parcs will reopen its first parks after nine weeks from next week.
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.”
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- The six largest national culture funds have budgeted an extra 15 million euros to support workers in the creative sector during the corona crisis. This was announced on Tuesday 12 May. The funds that come to the rescue of the creative sector are the Dutch Foundation for Literature, the Performing Arts Fund, the Mondriaan Fund, the Creative Industries Fund NL, the Netherlands Film Fund and the Dutch Cultural Participation Fund.Ingrid van Engelshoven, Minister of Education, Culture and Science, previously announced that 300 million will be allocated to the Dutch culture sector. The 15 million euros that the national culture funds are now making available is in addition to this.
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.
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- The second round of support for companies that were financially hit by the coronavirus crisis will involve more tailor-made solutions, sources have told the Financieele Dagblad. Ministers have been talking to employers and unions to thrash out the new agreement for several weeks and clarity is due next week, the paper said. The current package expires at the end of May.Coalition partners CDA, ChristenUnie and D66, like the VVD, want a new round of emergency aid – probably for another three months – to provide targeted aid for those sectors suffering from the crisis the most, or where it will last longer. Such as for gyms, catering and the travel and events industry. CDA and ChristenUnie also insist on compensation for fixed operating costs, where in the first round the emphasis was on wage subsidy.
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.
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