I have attended the first bigger social gatherings again, and although it was maybe a little awkward at first (how are you actually supposed to greet someone you do/don’t know these days?), it felt really good to see people spontaneously and in 3D again.

On the other hand, Corona hasn’t left us yet. Still, in the Netherlands alone, on average, over 42,000 people per day get tested positive. Luckily, most of them don’t get real sick and get back on their feet quickly. It is so much better than a few weeks/months ago. But, still more than 1,800 Covid patients are currently at the hospitals, plus 158 at the ICUs. Still, on average, 15 people die per day, and others will possibly contract long-Covid.

This is why it is still needed to isolate for 5 days after testing positive.

And although not all of those people got admitted to the hospital because of Covid (but for other medical reasons), for the hospital this doesn’t make much difference. These patients need extra attention, and the staff needs special clothing and equipment to help them recover.

For these reasons, some people still feel vulnerable, for example, elderly people, those with a compromised immune system, and pregnant women. They could still feel uncomfortable going out without a face mask, or with too many people on top of each other. This is totally fine, of course.

I have also heard from some service providers that they still don’t want too many people to enter their premises, if not really needed. They are often already short-staffed, and they don’t want to get anyone else sick.

Next to Covid, there is also a flue epidemic going around at the moment, which is maybe a little late being the end of March. So, a lot of people are getting sick from the flue too. We aren’t done yet….

All updates you can find on the government website.