COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
in the Netherlands has resulted in confirmed cases of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and deaths.
The virus reached the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
on 27 February 2020, when its first COVID-19 case was confirmed in
Tilburg
Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...
. It involved a 56-year-old Dutchman who had arrived in the Netherlands from Italy, where the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to enter Europe. As of 31 January 2021, there are 978,475 confirmed cases of infections and 13,998 confirmed deaths. The first death occurred on 6 March, when an 86-year-old patient died in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
.
On the advice of the Outbreak Management Team (OMT), under supervision of Jaap van Dissel, measures were taken by the
Third Rutte cabinet
The third Rutte cabinet was the cabinet of the Netherlands from 26 October 2017 until 10 January 2022 (since 15 January 2021 demissionary). It was formed by a coalition government of the political parties People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ...
for the
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
to prevent the spread of this
viral disease
A viral disease (or viral infection) occurs when an organism's body is invaded by pathogenic viruses, and infectious virus particles (virions) attach to and enter susceptible cells.
Structural Characteristics
Basic structural characteristics, ...
, including the "intelligent lockdown". The government strategy on pandemic control has been criticised for the refusal to acknowledge the role of asymptomatic spread and the role of masks in preventing spread, as well as for the lack of testing capacity, in particular during the first half of 2020. In March 2020, Prime Minister
Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010 and Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2006.
After a business career working for Unileve ...
called for
herd immunity
Herd immunity (also called herd effect, community immunity, population immunity, or mass immunity) is a form of indirect protection that applies only to contagious diseases. It occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population has become im ...
as an important method to stop the pandemic. On 23 January 2021, as the government imposed a nationwide 9:00 p.m. curfew in a context of emergence of the British variant, the worst riots in 40 years broke out across the country.
Since the end of November 2021, the
SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant
Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...
is spreading in parts of Europe (i.e. UK, Denmark and France). The number of registered new infections has risen strongly. There is a lockdown in the Netherlands from 19 December 2021 to (at least) 14 January 2022.http://www.rijksoverheid.nl ''Verspreiding omikron vertragen: Nederland in lockdown'' /ref>
__TOC__
Background
On 12 January, the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO) confirmed that a
novel coronavirus
Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a provisional name given to coronaviruses of medical significance before a permanent name is decided upon. Although coronaviruses are endemic in humans and infections normally mild, such as the common cold (caused by ...
was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
,
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
, China, who had initially come to the attention of the WHO on 31 December 2019.
Unlike SARS of 2003, the
case fatality rate
In epidemiology, case fatality rate (CFR) – or sometimes more accurately case-fatality risk – is the proportion of people diagnosed with a certain disease, who end up dying of it. Unlike a disease's mortality rate, the CFR does not take int ...
for COVID-19 has been much lower, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.
Timeline
January 2020
* As of 22 January 2020, the country's main international airport
Schiphol
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...
was not taking extra measures against the spread of the virus, stating the lack of direct flights from or to Wuhan.
* On 29 January the
RIVM
The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment ( nl, Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu or simply RIVM) is a Dutch research institute that is an independent agency of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.
RIVM perfo ...
stated that the virus did not appear highly contagious, thus spread of COVID-19 in the Netherlands was unlikely.
February 2020
* 22 February – 1 March: spring holiday for Dutch south and middle regions, where a significant number of families went skiing to
Trentino
Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...
, a northern province of Italy.
* 26 February: the Dutch foreign ministry updated its travel advice for Italy, advising citizens not to travel to areas affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
* 27 February: the first confirmed case of COVID-19, a man from
Loon op Zand
Loon op Zand () is a municipality and a village in the southern Netherlands. It had a population of in .
The western part of national park the Loonse en Drunense Duinen is located in the municipality of Loon op Zand.
Population centres
Topo ...
who had been in the
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
region of Italy was admitted to Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital in
Tilburg
Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...
.
* 28 February: a second case confirmed, a woman from Amsterdam who had visited the Lombardy region in Italy was in home isolation in
Diemen
Diemen () is a town and municipality with a population of in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is located approximately 6 km (3.7 mi) southeast of Amsterdam's city centre, within the Amsterdam metropolitan area.
Etymology
The name ...
. She is an employee of the
Academic Medical Center
An academic medical centre (AMC), variously also known as academic health science centre, academic health science system, or academic health science partnership, is an educational and healthcare institute formed by the grouping of a health profes ...
in Amsterdam.
* 29 February: third and fourth cases confirmed, the husband and the youngest child of the second case. On the same day the wife and daughter of the first case were also confirmed to have the virus. Another case is a woman from
Delft
Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...
, who had recently been travelling to Italy and is isolated at home.
March 2020
1–10 March
* 1 March: three new cases were confirmed: a 49-year-old woman from
Nieuwendijk
Nieuwendijk is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is a part of the municipality of Altena, and lies about 8 km south of Gorinchem.
History
The village was first mentioned in 1468 as Nyewendijck, and means "new dike". Nieu ...
who had been hospitalised at
Erasmus MC
Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC or EMC) based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, affiliated with Erasmus University and home to its faculty of medicine, is the largest and one of the most authoritative scientific University Medical Centers in ...
in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, a woman in Tilburg and a man in
Dalen
Dalen (Dutch Low Saxon: ''Daoln'') is a village and a former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands, in the province of Drenthe. Since 1998, Dalen has been part of the municipality of Coevorden.
The village was first mentioned in the 12t ...
,
Coevorden
Coevorden (; nds-nl, Koevern) is a city and municipality in the province of Drenthe, Netherlands. During the 1998 municipal reorganisation in the province, Coevorden merged with Dalen, Sleen, Oosterhesselen and Zweeloo, retaining its name. In ...
. The 49-year-old woman had been admitted to the Beatrix Hospital in
Gorinchem
Gorinchem ( or ), also spelled Gorkum, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland
South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of Oc ...
on 21 February before being transferred to Rotterdam later. She arrived at the Beatrix Hospital with respiratory problems and stayed in intensive care for a week. A test for
SARS-CoV-2
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a ...
was not conducted since she had no connection to infected areas or people. Therefore, her infection went unnoticed for over a week. On 1 March it was announced that she had COVID-19 and that she had been relocated to Erasmus MC due to her deteriorating condition earlier. Since then the Beatrix Hospital went into lock-down out of precaution for a few days. Only personnel was allowed to enter and leave the building. The hospital fully reopened on 5 March, after all employees had tested negative.
* 4 March: all of Northern Italy had an "only necessary travel"-advice. Some tourists were still in Italy, including a group of 900 students, something which received a lot of media attention. In the Netherlands the total number of cases climbed to 38, which included one person passing through the Netherlands who was isolated in
Hoofddorp
Hoofddorp (; ) is the main town of the Haarlemmermeer municipality in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. In 2021, the population was 77,885. The town was founded in 1853, immediately after the Haarlemmermeer had been drained.
His ...
. The next day this number more than doubled to 82. According to
Bruno Bruins
Bruno Johannes Bruins (born 10 July 1963) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) who served as Minister for Medical Care in the Third Rutte cabinet from 26 October 2017 to 19 March 2020, when he resigned. H ...
, Minister for Medical Care, this was due to a catch-up in conducted tests.
* 6 March: the
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment ( nl, Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu or simply RIVM) is a Dutch research institute that is an independent agency of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.
RIVM perfo ...
(RIVM) announced the first death due to COVID-19, an 86-year-old patient. The RIVM stated that most COVID-19 patients were infected in northern Italy and advised inhabitants of the
North Brabant
North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the we ...
province to reduce their social contacts if they showed symptoms.
* 9 March: the total number of cases was 321, of which more than one-third were found in North Brabant. Prime Minister
Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010 and Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2006.
After a business career working for Unileve ...
asked citizens to stop shaking hands and asked people in North Brabant to remote work if possible.
* 10 March: stricter measures were introduced in the province of North Brabant. Larger events were banned, including professional football, a number of dance festivals, carnival parades and concerts. A scholarship program was cancelled at the University of Eindhoven. In addition to this,
Tilburg
Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...
Mayor Theo Weterings called to limit social contacts for a week.
11–20 March
* 12 March: the government announced new measures that will be in effect through the end of the month. All events (concerts, sports) and all meetings with more than 100 people are now forbidden and the RIVM is encouraging people to remote work. The restriction also applies to museums. All Dutch universities will suspend physical teaching until 1 April, but online teaching will continue. Schools remain open.
: This press conference was the first time the government used a
sign language
Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...
interpreter to ensure good communication to deaf people. Irma Sluis filled this position and quickly gained some fame with her performance.
* 13 March, the government cancelled all flights from China, Iran, Italy, and South Korea, the countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases, for two weeks. Flights leaving the destinations before 18:00 on that day could still land in the Netherlands.
* 15 March: the total number of cases was 1,135. The
Municipal Health Service
In the European Netherlands, a Municipal Health Service (, GGD) is a decentralised public health organisation. Legally, the responsibility for the provision of this service lies with the municipalities. However, in practice, the municipalities wo ...
(''Gemeentelijke gezondheidsdienst'', GGD) estimated that as of this day, 6,000 people in the Netherlands had been infected, as since 12 March people with mild complaints had not been tested any more. Public measures were also tightened up. Schools and childcare centres will remain closed until 6 April, as well as cafés, restaurants, sports clubs, saunas, sex clubs and coffeeshops.
* 16 March: in the evening Prime Minister
Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010 and Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2006.
After a business career working for Unileve ...
addressed the nation about the coronavirus. It was the first time a Prime Minister had addressed the nation since the
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...
. In his speech he announced that the government chooses not to resort to population confinement measures, but to rely on the measures taken earlier to try to assert maximum control over the spread of the virus. Reasoning that the virus is here to stay, the preferred approach would be to tackle the epidemic by building population immunity.
* 17 March: the total number of confirmed cases was 1,705, of which 314 patients had been admitted to the hospital.
Arie Slob
Arie Slob (; born 16 November 1961) is a Dutch politician and history teacher who served as List of Ministers of Education of the Netherlands, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education and Media in the Third Rutte cabinet from 26 October 2017 u ...
notified that schools could stay open for the sole purpose of letting final exam candidates finish their last schoolwork. Schools will only open if certain conditions are met. This measure is taken to ensure that final exam candidates are prepared for the national exam at the start of May.
* 18 March: the Minister for Medical Care,
Bruno Bruins
Bruno Johannes Bruins (born 10 July 1963) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) who served as Minister for Medical Care in the Third Rutte cabinet from 26 October 2017 to 19 March 2020, when he resigned. H ...
, became unwell during a parliamentary debate and collapsed. On 19 March he resigned from his position. In a press conference it was announced that Health Minister
Hugo de Jonge
Hugo Mattheüs de Jonge (; born 26 September 1977) is a Dutch politician serving as Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning since 2022 in the Fourth Rutte cabinet. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he was elected to its leade ...
would from then on handle the coronavirus pandemic in the Netherlands.
* 19 March: a traveller from the Netherlands was described as "Patient Zero of the Winelands" in South Africa.
* 20 March: in a press conference it was announced that Martin van Rijn would become the new Minister for Medical Care. In the evening, King
Willem-Alexander
Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013.
Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the oldest child of Princess Beat ...
addressed the nation due to the coronavirus outbreak.
21–31 March
* 22 March: the
NOC*NSF
The Dutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation, ( nl, Nederlands Olympisch Comité*Nederlandse Sport Federatie) generally abbreviated NOC*NSF, is the overall coordinating Dutch sports organization that also functions as the Dutch National O ...
(Dutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation) sent a letter to the
IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
stating the advice that the
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
only can take place when the coronavirus crisis is under control worldwide. The NOC also asked for more certainty for the athletes. The letter was supported by most of the National Sport Federations.
* 23 March: stricter social distancing rules were announced in a press conference.
* 24 March: in a press conference, the Minister for Primary and Secondary Education announced all
final examinations
A final examination, annual, exam, final interview, or simply final, is a test given to students at the end of a course of study or training. Although the term can be used in the context of physical training, it most often occurs in the ac ...
(''centraal eindexamen'') for secondary education would be cancelled.
* 26 March: the
NOC*NSF
The Dutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation, ( nl, Nederlands Olympisch Comité*Nederlandse Sport Federatie) generally abbreviated NOC*NSF, is the overall coordinating Dutch sports organization that also functions as the Dutch National O ...
(Dutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation) provided hundreds of cooling vests for healthcare personnel at the intensive care departments in several hospitals. Doctors have to work in warm conditions among others due to the protective clothing they have to wear. The vests would initially be used by the Dutch athletes at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
* 29 March: the total number of positive coronavirus cases in the country surpassed 10,000. Upon the announcement, RIVM stated that 'the number of hospitalised patients and the number of deaths are increasing less quickly than would have been expected without measures'. It further said that since testing was done mostly only for the very sick and healthcare workers, the actual number of infections is likely to be far higher.
* 31 March: in a press conference it was announced that all measures initiated on 15 March will be extended until 28 April.
April 2020
* 7 April: Prime Minister
Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010 and Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2006.
After a business career working for Unileve ...
announced in a press conference that the measures could possibly be loosened a bit after 28 April, however getting back to 'normal' will take considerable time. Furthermore, the Dutch Government are researching possibilities to use an app to register corona infections and use this app to warn others who were in proximity of an infected person. However, concerns were raised whether this app would harm privacy.
* 8 April: this day marked the first day since the outbreak in the Netherlands that the number of corona patients in intensive care units declined. It was a sign to many that the curve was 'flattened' in the Netherlands.
* 15 April: Prime Minister Mark Rutte held a press conference. The numbers of infections, deaths and hospitalisations were declining. He announced that loosening the measures could only be done in small steps, and with several restrictions in mind: keeping 1.5 meter distance, sufficient health care capacity and adequate protection of older and/or weaker people.
* 20 April: a total number of 32,655 people tested positive for COVID-19 and 3,684 people died due to the coronavirus. Admittance to hospitals and ICUs was steadily declining, leading to conclusions that the lock-down measures had the desired effect.
* 22 April: All measures were extended until 20 May. An exception was made for elementary schools: these will open on 11 May. Mark Rutte also announced that secondary education would gradually open after 2 June. Furthermore, events that require a permit are forbidden until 1 September. Among others this means that football matches are also not allowed, resulting in the end of the 2019–20 Eredivisie season.
* 23 April: research of the RIVM indicated that the first infection in the Netherlands was possibly on 15 February, almost two weeks before the first confirmed infection. Among others this research was based on patients who had similar symptoms but were not tested for COVID-19.
* 26 April: COVID-19 has been confirmed in mink at two fur farms in the Netherlands, the agriculture ministry confirmed.
* 28 April: after the Netherlands Trade and Investment Office was renamed "Netherlands Office Taipei" to reflect the increased scope of cooperation between the two countries, the Chinese ambassador expressed discontent, demanded a clarification of the name change, and reminded the Dutch government to dutifully adhere to the one-China principle. The ''Global Times'' warned of a backlash and claimed that users of Chinese social media sites had called for China to immediately stop exporting medical supplies to the Netherlands and that Chinese citizens were demanding a boycott of Dutch products and cancelling their travel plans to the Netherlands.
May 2020
* 6 May: the government announces that starting from 11 May so-called "contact jobs" such as hairdressers and beauty salons, can open again. From 1 June, bars can open their outside areas again. From that date the government also aims to test anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, instead of only health care workers. The advice "Stay home" changes to "Stay home when showing symptoms". Face masks become mandatory in public transport, despite the RIVM still doubting the effectivity.
* 7 May: Minister
Hugo de Jonge
Hugo Mattheüs de Jonge (; born 26 September 1977) is a Dutch politician serving as Minister of Housing and Spatial Planning since 2022 in the Fourth Rutte cabinet. A member of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), he was elected to its leade ...
indicates in a letter to the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
that large-scale events will not be possible until a vaccine is found.
* 11 May: indoor pools were also allowed to open again. Visitors are required to dress at home beforehand and shower at home afterward. All visitors older than 12 years old have to maintain 1.5 meter distance.
* 19 May: in a press conference the government announces that more restrictions can be loosened, provided that no new outbreaks will occur. From 2 June secondary schools will partly open for students. From 8 June primary schools will fully open. And from 15 June onwards, middle level (mbo) and high educations (hbo/wo) will partly open.
June 2020
* 1 June: bars and restaurants are allowed to open from 12:00. Inside a maximum of 30 guests are allowed who have to reserve beforehand. On outdoor terraces no maximum is enforced. Both in- and outside guests and personnel have to maintain 1.5 meter distance, unless they are from the same household. On this day there was also a large demonstration on
Dam Square
Dam Square or the Dam () is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the best-known and most important locations in the city and the country.
Location and description
...
in Amsterdam. This was part of the
George Floyd protests
The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...
. About 5,000 people converged on the square. While most of them wore face masks, it was impossible to maintain 1.5-metre distance. The mayor of Amsterdam,
Femke Halsema
Femke Halsema (; born 25 April 1966) is a Dutch politician and filmmaker. On 27 June 2018, she was appointed Mayor of Amsterdam and began serving a six-year term on 12 July 2018. She is the first woman to hold the position on a non-interim bas ...
, opted to not stop the demonstration, as she feared riots. She faced harsh criticism afterwards, as this demonstration could cause a new outbreak of COVID-19. However, almost no cases linked to the demonstration (or similar demonstrations in other cities) were found in the weeks after.
July 2020–present: second wave
Since mid-July, there has been a large increase in positive cases, from about 50 positive tested people/day to over 7,000 positive tested people per day. Measures were tightened in late September to achieve control over the spread again. About 1 in 120 people were deemed infectious in late September. A record number of 11,107 new cases in one day was reported on 30 October.
From 14 October 22:00, a partial lockdown came into effect. Cafes, restaurants, and bars were to be closed for at least two weeks. Starting 1 December, masks were made compulsory to wear while indoors.
From 15 December 2020 through at least 15 March 2021, a hard lockdown is in effect, and all non-essential shops are closed.
On 19 December 2020, it was discovered that a mutant strain of COVID-19,
Variant of Concern 202012/01
The Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) was a SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern. It was estimated to be 40–80% more transmissible than the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 (with most estimates occupying the middle to higher end of this range). It was first detecte ...
, had entered the Netherlands. The Dutch government banned flights from the United Kingdom, where the strain was originally identified, in response. The travel ban is scheduled to remain in place until at least 1 January.
Shortly after Christmas 2020, most European countries started COVID-19 vaccination programs, however the Netherlands expected to start vaccination on 8 January 2021. The government cited issues with the digital registration system as the cause of the delayed vaccination start.
As of 9 January 2021, a total of 30,000 healthcare workers had been vaccinated, and 96 cases of the
Lineage B.1.1.7
The Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) was a Variants of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern. It was estimated to be 40–80% more Transmission (medicine), transmissible than the Wild type, wild-type SARS-CoV-2 (with most estimates occupying the ...
variant have been reported. As of 16 January 2021, 200 cases of that variant have been reported. These cases cause extra concern, as this variant is suspected to be more contagious, with a reproduction number estimated to 1.3.
As of 26 January 2021, over 173,000 people had gotten vaccinated.
In January 2021, it was discovered that personal data of people in the
contact tracing
In public health, contact tracing is the process of identifying persons who may have been exposed to an infected person ("contacts") and subsequent collection of further data to assess transmission. By tracing the contacts of infected individua ...
database was illegally sold to fraudsters by call center employees having access to them. A few days earlier, employees of testing company U-diagnostics were found to have shared personal data in a
WhatsApp
WhatsApp (also called WhatsApp Messenger) is an internationally available freeware, cross-platform, centralized instant messaging (IM) and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by American company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook). It allows us ...
group of 300 employees, violating the
GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European Union regulation on data protection and privacy in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA). The GDPR is an important component of EU privacy law and of human rights law, in parti ...
privacy regulations.
January 2021 curfew and protests
Starting on 23 January 2021, the Dutch government introduced a
curfew
A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...
as means to curb the epidemic. On 24 January 2021, violent protests erupted as a reaction. The curfew, imposed between 9 pm to 4:30 am, was the first of its kind to be enacted in the country since the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Protests took place in most major cities, including
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
and
Eindhoven
Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022, The Dutch Police Association described the riots at the worst violence in Netherlands in the last 40 years. The protests have been described as being composed of mostly young men.
An opinion poll by public broadcaster NOS indicated that the curfew was supported by seven out of 10 Dutch respondents, with just 18% of the population opposing it. A lawsuit started by Willem Engel's ''Viruswaanzin'' (later renamed ''Viruswaarheid'') challenged the legal justification for the curfew, and while a lower court found that the government's justification was lacking, the matter was quickly remedied.
Exceptions to the curfew have been made for several groups of people, including medical emergencies, essential jobs, including delivery, and walking dogs on a leash.
June 2021
On June 5, an ''openingsplan'' cancelled many COVID restrictions. Three weeks later, the number of new infections rose massively.
July 2021
On July 10, 2021, the government reintroduced a series of restrictive measures due to a rapid increase in infections. All restaurants and bars must be closed from midnight until 06.00. The measures will remain in place until 14 August 2021.
November 2021 protests and riots
In November 2021, the government proposed implementing the "2G rule", a measure to only allow individuals who are vaccinated (''gevaccineerd'') or have recovered from a COVID-19 infection (''genezen'') from being able to enter hotels, restaurants, cafes, cultural and artistic places, and events, and to use non-essential services. On November 19, a protest against the 2G rule was announced on social media, which turned into a riot. The police shot several people.
Most notably, riots occurred in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, where 51 people were arrested. There were also riots in
Stein
Stein is a German, Yiddish and Norwegian word meaning "stone" and "pip" or "kernel". It stems from the same Germanic root as the English word stone. It may refer to:
Places In Austria
* Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Aust ...
,
Roermond
Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Ro ...
,
Urk
Urk () is a municipality and a town in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands.
Urk is first mentioned in historical records dating to the 10th century, when it was still an island in the Zuiderzee, an inland sea that would become part ...
,
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
,
Enschede
Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau ...
,
Leeuwarden
Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...
and
Tilburg
Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...
. The authorities used
water cannon
A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining ...
mounted police
Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. Their day-to-day function is typically picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and increasingly in the ...
against the rioters. Three rioters were seriously injured when police opened fire on them, while a fourth sustained minor injuries. Additionally, four rioters and five police officers sustained minor injuries during the unrest. Peaceful protests also took place in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
and
Breda
Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...
.
December 2021
On 19 December, a lockdown has begun. It lasts at least until 14 January 2022. Only essential facilities, such as foodstores and pharmacies, stay open, and only during reduced hours. Schools and educational facilities are closed; in particular, the school Christmas holidays started one week earlier. Public transport continues to operate, although schedules were adjusted.
January 2022
On January 3, 2022, following winter break, the government opened primary and secondary schools again. Tertiary schools — middle and higher education — remained closed.
Prevention measures and response
In late March, the government announced strict social distancing rules as cases surged over 5,000. All large public events and gatherings are banned until 1 September. Furthermore, in public space a distance of at least 1.5 metres between people not from the same household must be observed, and shops and other venues are to enforce this distancing among their visitors. Fines will be issued to those not complying with the new rules. Companies may face a fine up to €4,000, individuals risk a fine up to €400. Prime Minister
Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010 and Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2006.
After a business career working for Unileve ...
repeated his call to keep distance from each other.
Final examinations of secondary school were cancelled on 24 March. Other measures were that schools and day-cares were closed, except for children whose parents work in the 'vital' sectors, like health care. People were required to remote work as much as possible. These measures also resulted in modified schedules for public transport, as much less transportation of individuals was necessary.
Reaction to second wave
As a response to the large increase in positive tests since July, the Dutch government released additional regulations on 13 October. These include:
* Closing the hospitality industry.
* Banning the sale of alcohol in the evening, as well as closing non-essential stores.
* Limiting group sizes and the number of guests received at home.
* Banning events and amateur sports for adults.
* Requiring face masks in public indoor spaces, including schools outside classrooms.
Additionally the government advised people to remote work and limit unnecessary travel.
Holiday season
The Dutch government also stated that people should be mindful of the regulations during the holiday season. Sint Maarten, a holiday where children collect sweets from neighbours, was still held with social distancing and maximum group size regulations in place.
Sinterklaas
Sinterklaas () or Sint-Nicolaas () is a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. Other Dutch names for the figure include ''De Sint'' ("The Saint"), ''De Goede Sint'' ("The Good Saint") and ''De Goedheiligman'' ("The ...
was also held with the same regulations, with people also being advised not to delay holiday shopping to the last possible moment.
In November 2020, the government also announced that it would ban
fireworks
Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...
on New Year's Eve (traditionally the only time of the year that consumers are allowed to purchase and ignite fireworks), citing that firework-related injuries would put too much stress on the healthcare system during the pandemic.
Reaction to the B.1.1.7 variant
In January 2021, the government extended its regulations and considered tightening them to limit the spread of
Lineage B.1.1.7
The Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) was a Variants of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern. It was estimated to be 40–80% more Transmission (medicine), transmissible than the Wild type, wild-type SARS-CoV-2 (with most estimates occupying the ...
, which is estimated to be more contagious.
Contact tracing application
The Dutch Ministry of Public Health officially maintains an application called CoronaMelder for Android and
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
open source software
Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. Open ...
under the
European Union Public License
The European Union Public Licence (EUPL) is a free software licence that was written and approved by the European Commission. The licence is available in 23 official languages of the European Union. All linguistic versions have the same validity. ...
.
CoronaMelder launched nationwide on 10 October 2020, and was downloaded 2.6 million times two days later. The maintainers stated that they are unable to track the number of users that actively use the application owing to privacy reasons. Later that month on 26 October the app had reportedly 3.5 million downloads and around 14,000 reports of positive test results.
Testing
By mid-March, the country could test about 1,000 samples per day, which is less than the capabilities of other European countries. This also explains a relatively large ratio of the number of deaths to the number of confirmed cases. As of 25 March, 2,500 samples have been tested daily and a total number of 38,000 tests performed. Because of the limited availability of testing capacity, certain groups were prioritised in testing, such as healthcare workers, elderly, and people with acute symptoms. A lack of testing capacity causes a distinct number of deaths by COVID-19 that are not registered as such, although local doctors can recognise the symptoms. By the end of March, the country was testing about 4,000 people per day, with the goal of expanding the testing capacity to about 17,500 daily tests in a couple of weeks. Once such a testing capacity has been reached the Dutch government wants to expand its testing capacity to 29,000 tests a day.
According to a report by the RIVM, an average of 4,280 tests per day have been performed in the period between 9 March and 26 April. Several health organisations have started testing themselves, claiming the procedures of the GGD testing centers take too long.
In a press conference on 6 May, the government announced that starting from 1 June it wants to test all people with COVID-19 symptoms. The coordination has been criticised, with the regional GGD offices stating there is no clear national plan to scale up testing. Nonetheless, the test capacity was increased to 30,000 per day with the GGDs being able to conduct 600 to 2400 contact traces for positively tested applicants with 2-8% of the tests done assumed to result positive for the virus. On 1 June, a national telephone number was made public through which a test time and location could be scheduled. The new system, although initially overwhelmed by the number of callers on the first day, tested 50,000 people in the first week and had 100,000 applicants by 11 June. By 9 June, most regions where successful in handling the increased demand, with people often being able to schedule a test the same day or the day after. The GGDs strive for a test result to be made known to the applicant within 48 hours, with 96% of results being successfully returned within that time by 11 June.
Impact
In response to regulations announced on 12 March,
panic buying
Panic buying (alternatively hyphenated as panic-buying; also known as panic purchasing) occurs when consumers buy unusually large amounts of a product in anticipation of, or after, a disaster or perceived disaster, or in anticipation of a large ...
of food, toilet paper and medicines, resulted in empty shelves in supermarkets. Prime Minister
Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte (; born 14 February 1967) is a Dutch politician who has served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 2010 and Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) since 2006.
After a business career working for Unileve ...
appealed to the nation to stop this behaviour. On 12 March it was announced that all public events with more than 100 people will be cancelled until 6 April. On 24 March this period was extended to 1 June for all permit-requiring events. Three days later it was announced in a press conference that all restaurants, museums, sport clubs and schools had to close. A Dutch "grassroots" initiative, Mond Kapjes Nodig was formed to address the local PPE shortages. More than 400,000 masks was delivered within weeks to those fighting the pandemic in the Netherlands. This helped relieve the coordination efforts on a national level.
Economic
On 26 March, the
Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis
The Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis ( nl, Centraal Planbureau, CPB, literal translation: Central Planning Bureau) is a part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy of the Netherlands. Its goal is to deliver economic analysis an ...
published the first calculations of the economic expectations. These expectations are based on the length of the prevention measures against the coronavirus pandemic. If these measures are present for three months, the Dutch economy is expected to shrink by 1.2 per cent in 2020. If these measures are required for a year the economy would decline by 10 per cent. In all cases it is expected that the economy will slightly grow the following year.
On 8 June, three months into the crisis, an analysis of
Rabobank
Rabobank (; full name: ''Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.'') is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands. The group comprises 89 local Dutch Rabobanks (2019), a central organisation (Raboban ...
was published. They expected that the economy between March and June shrunk by 8%, with the catering sector being hit the most. They expected that, whereas the crisis was over the peak, the economy would continue shrinking, and the industries, in particular the construction industry, which were doing relatively well, would be hit as well. The forecast was that the unemployment rate would grow from 3% to 7% by the end of 2020.
As a result of the ban on fireworks for the 2020-2021 New Year's Eve the Dutch government has compensated the fireworks industry for around 40 million euros.
Statistics
Total confirmed cases, hospitalisations and deaths
New confirmed cases per day
New deaths per day
New hospitalisations per day
New IC admissions per day
Growth rate of confirmed cases
Confirmed COVID-19 cases by GGD district
Confirmed COVID-19 cases by sex and age
Notable deaths
See also
*
COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
The global COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Europe with its first confirmed case in Bordeaux, France, on 24 January 2020, and subsequently spread widely across the continent. By 17 March 2020, every country in Europe had confirmed a case, and all ...
*
COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory
This is a general overview and status of places affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The first human ...
*
List of countries by life expectancy
Methodology
The life expectancy is shown separately for males and for females, as well as a combined figure. Several non- sovereign entities and territories are also included in this list.
The figures reflect the quality of healthcare in th ...