From Friday, football stadiums, theatres, cinemas and restaurants will be allowed to receive almost unlimited visitors again – and they will be open again until 1 a.m. instead of 10 p.m. as before. “The country will be reopened,” Health Minister Ernst Kuipers said in The Hague on Tuesday evening. In view of the declining number of infections, there is reason for optimism, said Kuipers. “But we have to be realistic. Corona is not gone.” He continued to urge citizens to exercise caution.
The return to normality happens in two steps. After the first easing this Friday, the expected last step will follow on February 25th. Then the mask requirement will be abolished and also the Corona pass, it said. With the pass, visitors to restaurants, culture and sport still have to prove that they have been tested, vaccinated or recovered.
Compulsory testing at major events
For major indoor events such as festivals, testing will be mandatory in the future. The mask requirement should only apply in local public transport and on airplanes.
In the past few weeks, pressure from citizens and businesses on the government to lift the measures had increased. Even experts now consider this to be justifiable. According to the Institute for Health and Environment RIVM, the number of patients in hospitals is falling slightly. The number of new infections has also fallen by 22 percent in the past seven days. “It seems that the peak of this wave of infections is behind us,” said the RIVM.
Latvia relaxes measures
Despite the continued high number of infections, Latvia will suspend the use of corona certificates in retail. In the Baltic EU country, from March 1st, a so-called green passport for those who have been vaccinated or have recovered will no longer have to be presented to visit almost all shops.
Instead, retailers must allocate 15 square meters of space for each customer. This was decided by the government in Riga on Tuesday. The previous restrictions on opening times will also be lifted. The mask requirement, distance rules and hygiene regulations remain valid.
Source: Nachrichten
