Supermarkets and bars should close at 8pm from tomorrow, and the government is again advising to work from home and not take in more than four people to visit.

These measures are “very powerful”, says virologist Gorben Pijlman of Wageningen University, but they are also in high demand.

“If you see how busy it is, for example down the road, the whole community seems open again. You can’t deny the problem in healthcare, there has to be a solution. So hopefully this helps. It will make a huge difference if people start working from home again. other.

Celebrating Christmas together

“The greatest impact can still be achieved by continuing to vaccinate people. But to put an end to this outbreak quickly and briefly, you need to do something else. That is why it is wise for the government to step in now firmly. Take important measures now, we can be sure That we might be able to celebrate Christmas together again later.”

According to psychologist Gijs Coppens, founder of the online care platform OpenUp, many people will show an understanding of the new measures. “We accept that, because we understand that care needs to be eased. But it’s really a blow that we now end up closing again. A lot of people, especially young people, had a really tough time during the previous lockdown.”

desperate

“It’s just sad,” Coppins says. “A lot of people have contributed and been vaccinated, usually not for themselves but for the group. And it suddenly turned out to be insufficient. People can feel very hopeless because of this: Will it be possible to get out of the Corona crisis at any time?”

Previous closures had to be extended each time. It also has a negative effect on people, says Coppins: “I hope it really stays for three weeks, and the government doesn’t make another promise that will be broken again in two weeks.”

Virologist Begelman hopes the short three-week shutdown will have an effect, but then we have to stick to these measures: “If the rules are strict, but people implement them poorly, no progress will be made. Then the government should make more rules.” So people have to work from home and not meet with many people. This way we can contribute ourselves.”

Desired perspective

According to Jess Coppins, it is important for the government to offer a new perspective: “Vaccination has been presented all along as the way out of the crisis. People have been vaccinated en masse. But it is still not enough. This leads to frustration. Help?”

Coppins: “The cabinet should not only make a plan for the next three weeks, but also for the long term. For example by increasing the capacity of care. If there is such a clear plan, it is easier to follow the rules, because you know what you are doing for it. “.

Can a virologist offer some hope? Biglman: “Eventually we get to the situation where everyone is vaccinated or infected, so they are immune. Then the virus rarely leads to serious illness. I hope early next year, but I don’t have the crystal ball. It would be really helpful to get As many people as possible on the shot in the meantime.”

Verrassing in Beitou

The virologist does not hesitate: “This virus always has a surprise in store. I did not expect this peak to come either. I am really surprised that despite the high vaccination rate, we still have such an outbreak. It seems that we thought very positively about the effect of vaccinations. It is It helps very well against serious diseases and hospitalization and also has an effect on spreading, but this effect is not one hundred percent. ”