NETHERLANDS - COVID UPDATE 26 JUNE 2021

You must have noticed it: from today many more things have opened up again.

The overall number of positive tests continues to decrease, and today RIVM announced that for the first time since September, zero people had been reported to have died of Covid in the past 24 hours.

Also with the vaccinations things are going well. Currently, around 5 million people have been fully vaccinated, and over 4 million people have had their 1st shot and are still waiting for the 2nd one. Additional deliveries of the Janssen vaccine have arrived, for which only one shot is needed. The willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19 in The Netherlands is with 87% among the highest of the EU. By mid-July everyone who wants to be vaccinated and is aged 18+, will have had their first dose, and in many cases their second too.

But, at the same time, worries about the Delta variant are increasing.

The Delta variant of the coronavirus is extra contagious, and is expected to be the dominant variant in the Netherlands by next month. Especially young people, who haven’t been vaccinated yet, seem to take this variant with them when returning from their vacation in countries like Portugal and Spain. It seems that people who got two shots are also protected against this variant.

The developments will be closely monitored.

These are the new rules:

When you have symptoms, you should still stay home and get tested.
It is still required to keep 1.5 meters distance.
When it isn’t possible to keep this distance, face masks are still mandatory (from age 13+), like in public transport, at stations and airports, and in secondary schools. In all other places, face masks are not needed anymore, neither in stores and supermarkets.
For indoor and outdoor events, participants need to show a negative test result, and then they don’t need to keep distance or wear face masks.
Guests in restaurants and bars should get seated as much as possible, and they have to be registered upon entering.
For places where people don’t get seated, one visitor per 5 square meters is allowed, this also applies to museums, amusement parks and fairs.
Alcohol may be sold again after 10 pm, and you may sing, chant, and yell at football players on a big screen again.
You may receive groups of people at your home again, and employees may go back to their offices again. In all these situations, 1.5 meters distance is still required. In many cases this will result in people going to the office part-time.
It is allowed again to watch at amateur sports games.
Travellers may get tested for free in July and August.
Around mid-August the government will decide how and when the final step of the reopening plan can be taken. This will involve lifting the 1.5-meter rule and the other basic rules.