{"id":6541,"date":"2020-03-10T15:43:27","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T15:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=6541"},"modified":"2020-03-10T15:43:27","modified_gmt":"2020-03-10T15:43:27","slug":"coronavirus-the-dutch-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/coronavirus-the-dutch-response\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus: The Dutch Response"},"content":{"rendered":"

Het coronavirus <\/em>(the coronavirus) has reached Europe, including the Netherlands. While\u00a0landen <\/em>(countries) like Italy have decided that a landelijke quarantaine <\/em>(country-wide quarantine) is the right way to contain the virus, what do the Dutch do? And how do they react? Let’s have a look, while also learning some Dutch!<\/p>\n

The Government’s Advice<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Image by Micheile Henderson at Unsplash.com<\/p><\/div>\n

So far, the situation in the Netherlands is relatively relaxed. With 382 besmettingen <\/em>(infections) and 4 doden <\/em>(deaths) (as of March 10), the virus is definitely a reality, though. But, as we have seen in other countries, the virus can spread quickly, especially if left unchecked. So what’s the response of the Dutch?<\/p>\n

Initially, it was very calm. The Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM)\u00a0<\/em>(Royal Institute for Public Health and Environment) even put out videos for the first two\u00a0besmettingen<\/em>, detailing what had happened. Here’s the first one, when a patient was diagnosed with the virus on February 27:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eNCiFPIAVac<\/p>\n

The\u00a0overheid\u00a0<\/em>(government) responds through\u00a0advies <\/em>(advice) by the RIVM. On their website, they have a dedicated page<\/a> for the\u00a0ziekte\u00a0<\/em>(disease) caused by the coronavirus<\/em>, COVID-19. While that page gives you a lot of information, there is a free hotline if you have questions about the virus, too. The\u00a0advies<\/em> consists of what we’ve seen:\u00a0handen wassen\u00a0<\/em>(washing hands),\u00a0hoesten\u00a0<\/em>(coughing) and\u00a0niezen\u00a0<\/em>(sneezing) in the\u00a0binnenkant van de elleboog\u00a0<\/em>(inside of the elbow);\u00a0geen handen schudden\u00a0<\/em>(no handshaking) and \u00e9\u00e9n meter afstand tot anderen <\/em>(one meter distance to others).<\/p>\n

Those that are\u00a0besmet\u00a0<\/em>and are showing\u00a0symptomen\u00a0<\/em>(symptoms), the GGD (Geneeskundige Gezondheidsdienst<\/em>) (Medical Health Service) follows where they were prior to the\u00a0besmetting\u00a0<\/em>and who else they were in contact with. With luchtwegklachten\u00a0<\/em>(airway complaints) and\u00a0koorts <\/em>(fever), it is recommended that you stay thuis <\/em>(home), in so-called thuisquarantaine <\/em>(home quarantine). If in addition, you’ve also been in touch with somebody that was in the\u00a0risicogebieden\u00a0<\/em>(risk areas), or if you yourself have been there in the past 14 days, you should contact your\u00a0huisarts\u00a0<\/em>(general practitioner)\u00a0telefonisch\u00a0<\/em>(by phone).<\/p>\n

Especially the province of Noord-Brabant is affected, with most\u00a0besmettingen\u00a0<\/em>in the country.\u00a0Bijeenkomsten\u00a0<\/em>(gatherings) of more than 1000 mensen\u00a0<\/em>(people) are\u00a0verboden\u00a0<\/em>(prohibited). The\u00a0overheid\u00a0<\/em>is also urging people in that province to work from home for the coming days.<\/p>\n

People’s Opinion<\/strong><\/h2>\n