- The coronavirus is once again spreading rapidly. More than 8,000 new infections were reported for the fifth day in a row by the public health agency RIVM on Monday, raising the weekly average to its highest level in almost 6 weeks. The number of patients with COVID-19 in hospitals and care homes is also rising. That has an impact on healthcare in general; more than one million routine hospital procedures have had to be postponed.This was why Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced on Monday 14 December that the Netherlands will go into a strict ‘hard lockdown’ from 15 December until at least Tuesday 19 January. Nearly 8.4 million people tuned in to watch his speech.
The lockdown means that venues such as museums and theaters, amusement parks, sports venues and restaurants will be closed throughout this period. ‘Non-essential shops’ such as clothing stores will also be closed. Supermarkets, bakeries, butchers and other shops where food is sold can remain open, as can establishments such as pharmacies and petrol stations. Regarding contact-based professions, only people in medical and paramedical professions such as dentists can continue to carry out their work, which means hairdressers, nail salons etc. will be closed.
Primary and secondary schools, schools for secondary vocation education (MBO) and higher education institutions (universities and HBO) will deliver teaching online in order to reduce in-person contact. They may make exceptions for those sitting exams and interim exams this academic year, as well as for practical training and to support vulnerable pupils and students. Childcare centres will also be closed.
Primary schools and childcare centres will remain open for children whose parents work in critical sectors. In order to allow enough time to make preparations, the measures for schools, educational institutions and childcare centres will apply from Wednesday 16 December. They will be in place until Sunday 17 January.
Then, the advice remains to stay at home as much as possible, including during the festive season. Rutte announced that the new maximum number of guests you may receive at home is set to 2, with an exception on 24, 25 and 26, then you may receive 3 guests.
For a complete overview of the measures, we refer to the website of the government of the Netherlands.
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- The decision to close primary and secondary schools as part of the hard coronavirus lockdown now effective in the Netherlands, must also result in parents working from home more, Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health said in the television program Het coronavirus, feiten en fabels. “It is precisely working from home that hasn’t been going so well lately,” the Minister said.The risk of the coronavirus spreading when parents bring their children to school also played a role in the government’s decision to close them. Vulnerable children and children whose parents have vital professions can still go to school.
De Jonge explained that the coronavirus reproduction or R number is currently at around 1.24. That means that each Covid-19 patient infects 1.24 other people. If that doesn’t change, the Netherlands will have just as many Covid-19 patients around Christmas as the peak of the first wave in the spring.
Warnings about this from the Outbreak Management Team and public health institute RIVM also pushed the government to implement stricter measures. For the virus to fade away, the R number must be below 1. “We have no other option than to go full on the emergency brake,” De Jonge said.
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- Bird flu has been diagnosed at a small-scale poultry farm in Maasland in South Holland, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) reported on Saturday. To prevent further spread of the disease, the farm’s five hundred chickens must be culled.There are no other poultry farms in the 10 kilometers around the company. A series of security measures are being taken in this area. For example, there is a ban on transport of poultry, eggs, manure and used bedding.
At the end of October, the highly contagious H5 variant of bird flu was found in two swans near Utrecht. Two days later, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality introduced a housing obligation to prevent the spread of the virus.
This national housing obligation is still in force. As of this week, companies with laying hens and broilers have also been subject to a stricter reporting obligation. Zoos, petting zoos and people who keep birds or chickens as a hobby should better shield their birds and poultry so that they do not come into contact with wild animals that may carry the virus.
This year, companies in Groningen, Utrecht, Gelderland and Friesland were already cleared. So far, this concerns more than half a million animals. Last week, a company in Mijdrecht in Utrecht was cleared because bird flu was diagnosed. This company had three hundred chickens.
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- The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Dutch bank ING came to an agreement which will allow the Dutch bank to offer new, cheap loans to small and medium sized companies, in an effort to help limit the impact of the coronavirus crisis, the banks announced on Thursday.The EIB will guarantee almost 800 million in existing ING loans. In return, ING will provide 1.1 billion euros in new loans to SMEs. 702 million euros of that amount will be loaned at an extra low interest rate.
“In the next phase of the Covid-19 crisis, it is even more important to stimulate Dutch companies with a sound market and financial position to resume their investment programs again and seek new growth opportunities,” ING CEO Ruud van Dusschoten said.
Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for the Economy, is pleased that this deal will help SMEs, which were especially affected by the pandemic and traditionally have a harder time accessing bank financing.
“Thanks to the EIB Group guarantee backed by the Investment Plan for Europe, ING will unlock significant additional lending for Dutch SMEs. This is a further clear sign of our commitment to help businesses of all sizes to get through this difficult period,” he said.
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- The TUI Group lost over 3 billion euros in its past financial year, largely due to the coronavirus and accompanying travel restrictions putting severe pressure on the travel organization’s turnover and profits. The organization has hope for a better summer season next year, NOS reports.TUI is a German company that runs hotels, organizes cruises and holidays, and has airlines in various countries, including the Netherlands. All branches of TUI made a loss. Most of the company’s hotels and resorts closed completely in the first coronavirus lockdown, and flights were canceled en masse.
As a result, the company’s turnover in the financial year from October 2019 to September 2020 amounted to only 8 billion euros, with a loss of more than 3 billion euros. In the previous financial year, TUI generated almost 19 billion euros in turnover and a profit of over 500 million euros.
So far, TUI received 4.8 billion euros in coronavirus support from the German government. The travel restrictions in place due to the second wave of the coronavirus means that TUI expects to operate at only 20% capacity this winter season. It hopes to be back at 80% capacity by the summer.
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- Schiphol will soon be one of the most important distribution points for the coronavirus vaccines in the world. And as such the airport and airline combination Air France-KLM are working hard on preparations to store and transport these highly anticipated vaccines, Het Parool reports.”Perhaps 15 billion vaccines are needed worldwide,” Adriaan den Heijer of Air France-KLM said to the newspaper. A third will be transported by air. That will require somewhere between 1,000 and 7,000 cargo planes. Air France-KLM will perform 10 to 20% of those flights.
The coronavirus vaccines will be collected in countries like India, China and the United States, and taken by plane to Schiphol. From there they’ll be flown to Africa, Latin America and Asia. Vaccines for Europe will be distributed by truck from Schiphol.
Cargo buildings 1 and 2 at Schiphol are being equipped for storing vaccines, which must be kept at between -2 and -8 degrees Celsius. Refrigerated containers are ready and waiting in Cargo 1. Each container can hold up to 30 thousand vaccines. And KLM’s freight jumbos can carry 41 containers at a go. Cargo 2 is being converted into a cold store.
“We don’t know exactly when the vaccines will arrive, we do not know how many and not exactly from where and to where,” Marcel Kuijn, responsible for pharmaceutical transport at Air France KLM Cargo, said to Het Parool. “It is getting closer, but those vaccines also have to be approved. As soon as there’s a green light, we have to start immediately.
By transporting vaccines, KLM gives something back to the Netherlands, which bailed the airline out with a 3.4 billion euros support package, Den Heijer said to the newspaper. “This shows the importance of KLM. Nobody wants a pandemic, but now we can show what we are worth. We already did that with masks and other medical equipment. This is more complicated, but the social importance is the same.”
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- In a Brexit without trade agreements between the United Kingdom and the European Union, in the worst case scenario, the export value of Dutch flowers will decrease by almost 20%, says Eline van den Berg of the Royal FloraHolland flower auction.As a specialist in the supply chains of the auction, Van den Berg has calculated the consequences of Brexit. She has included five cost items in this. To start with, the paperwork for customs and the delay with which the flower transport has to deal at the border. There is also the currency risk – if the British pound falls in value against the euro, Dutch flowers in the UK will become more expensive.Brexit is also putting the disposable income of British consumers under pressure. “You can only spend your pound once,” says Van den Berg. Flowers are more likely to be removed from the shopping list than food. Another possibility is that the middlemen or the shops will disguise this price increase by making the bouquets smaller; not ten but eight for the same price, or by choosing cheaper variants.
These effects play a role in any case, no matter the outcome of Brexit. In that case, almost 14% of the flower exports could be lost. In addition, a hard Brexit will also result in import duties. So taxes, and the British charge 8% for cut flowers. That makes a big difference, because the margins are small for flowers. Some growers are considering adjusting their production, says Van den Berg. To start growing other colors, and to divert the trade to other countries. But that can put prices under pressure elsewhere.
The corona effect is also not completely over, as the restrictive measures in France and Germany are still holding back sales. Now Brexit is coming on top of that. Royal FloraHolland mainly wants clarity. Van den Berg gives an example. “From 1 April, flowers must have a health certificate before they go on the ferry to England. But it is not known what should be in those documents. ” Van den Berg is concerned about waiting times at the border. “If you already see how long the truck traffic jam is at Calais, this would not affect flowers in any positive way.
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