Dutch PM apologises for relaxing Covid restrictions too soon as cases surge

‘What we thought would be possible, turned out not to be possible in practice,’ says Mark Rutte

Following a surge in the number of Covid infections in the Netherlands, the government announced that from 10 July until 13 August all restaurants and bars must be closed between midnight and 6am (EPA)

The Dutch prime minister has apologised for relaxing Covid restrictions and acknowledged that his government had moved prematurely amid surging case numbers.

Mark Rutte said the lifting of lockdown measures had been the result of “poor judgement” and admitted that easing the rules “turned out not to be possible in practice”.

Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands have jumped to their highest level this year in recent days after the government decided to fully reopen bars, restaurants and nightclubs two weeks ago.

Responding to the high number of infections, the Dutch government announced that all restaurants and bars must be closed from midnight to 6am from 10 July until 13 August. Nightclubs have also been closed again, and live performances and loud music are prohibited.

“What we thought would be possible, turned out not to be possible in practice,” Mr Rutte said on Monday. “We had poor judgement, which we regret and for which we apologise.”

Mark Rutte speaks during an extra press conference in the Hague on Friday (EPA)

Late last week, he had repeatedly defended the easing of restrictions, calling it a “logical step”.

The admission that the Dutch government moved too quickly came as the British government prepared to announce the lifting of all restrictions from 19 July.

Boris Johnson is expected to conclude that the four tests set for unlocking – the success of the vaccine rollout, evidence that vaccines are causing a reduction in hospital admissions and deaths, that infection rates do not risk a surge in admissions, and that no new variants of concern have thrown progress off track – are being met, allowing step four of the roadmap to proceed.

This is despite ministers admitting that there could be 100,000 new cases a day in the summer.

In the Netherlands, the new spike in infections has so far not led to a notable increase in Covid patients in hospitals, given that most new cases are among young people less likely to fall seriously ill, and that most of the more vulnerable older people have been vaccinated.

However, Hugo de Jonge, the Dutch health minister, said on Friday that the current low level of hospital admissions could be threatened by an “unprecedented” increase in infections.

On the first weekend after the relaxation of the rules in the Netherlands, thousands of mainly young people flocked to clubs in towns and cities across the country. Since then, infections have rocketed.

On Saturday, the country’s public health institute reported more than 10,000 new cases, the highest number of positive tests since late December.

Countries across Europe are scrambling to accelerate coronavirus vaccinations in the hope of outpacing the spread of the more infectious Delta variant.

More than 46 per cent of the Netherlands’ adult population is fully vaccinated, and more than 77 per cent of adults have had at least one jab.

Health authorities say they will administer first or second vaccines to more than a million people this week.

Additional reporting by agencies