Could West-Europe be experiencing lockdowns again soon?

A dutch Advisory Council consisting of epidemiologists has been proposing the reintroduction of another closure in West-Europe since the beginning of summer. The Advisory Council would put pressure on the Dutch government to take unpopular and drastic measures in order to overcome the coronavirus epidemic.

Mark Rutte’s government will decide on what actions to take on Friday. Considered actions are the abolition of upcoming events, the closure of theatres and cinemas, as well as the shortening of opening times in restaurants and cáfes. For now, the government does not plan on closing schools.
The government often, but not always follows the advices of the Advisory Council.

Several countries share the opinion, that as long as there is enough vaccine, there is no need for newer lockdowns. Even despite the fact, that in lots of places the number of infected people is the highest it has ever been.

So far, the Netherlands only provided a third vaccine to a small group of people among those who have a weaker immune system.

Even though in the Netherlands the adult population’s 85 percent is vaccinated, some hospitals have already been forced to lessen normal treatment due to the augmentation of infected people.

In the past month, the average age of unvaccinated people in hospital because of coronavirus infection was 59 years, while the average of those who were vaccinated was 77 years. 56 percent of infected people are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated (those who were only given one dose). Among those requiring intensive care, 70 percent are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated according to data from the dutch epidemiological unit.

Last week the Netherlands inaugurated mask use once again and broadened the list of places that require you to show an immunity certificate before being allowed in. Tuesday’s report shows that in the Netherlands, weekly cases of infection have increased by 45 percent, from about 100 thousand to 400 thousand.