We just went into a COVID lockdown. An intelligent one, but a lockdown all the same. The coronavirus is about the only thing the world is currently talking about. It’s about the only item on the Dutch news right now, aside from the reduction of the motorway speed limit to 100km, which kicks in today. And man Dutch people are pissed about that. But mainly, it’s all about coronavirus, or more specifically COVID-19.
I’ll be popping back here regularly over the coming days and weeks, sanity allowing, to share the ups and the downs of life in the Netherlands with the coronavirus.
Fast Moving Measures in the Netherlands
I almost didn’t dare write any more on this topic. Last week’s blog post was pretty much out of date by the time I had published it. I feared writing another post in case I jinxed Dutch society.
Last week I shared that the government wasn’t taking much action to mitigate the impact of the spread of COVID-19. Aside from the Prime Minister telling us to not shake hands with each other that is, and then promptly forgetting that message and shaking hands with the nearest person to him, live on national TV.
Much of the measures implemented focused on the province of Brabant.
And then Thursday afternoon, hours after publishing my post, there was a press conference.
And things suddenly changed.
National Measures Taken to Slow the Spread of COVID-19 on 12 March 2020
- If you have symptoms of a cold stay home: cough, snotty nose, sore throat or fever. Self isolate. If your symptoms worsen call your GP.
- Gatherings of 100 people or more not permitted: museums, cinemas, sport clubs and events all cancelled or closed.
- Work from home if possible or spread working times to reduce the number of people coming together. For example, on public transport.
- Older and vulnerable people told to avoid social gatherings and public transport. Others asked to limit their visits to this particular group of people.
- Universities asked to move education online to avoid large groups coming together.
- Schools and creches to stay open to ensure that parents in vital sectors are able to continue working. Think along the lines of health professionals. Children and teachers with cold symptoms to stay home.
All measures in force until 31 March 2020.
Three Days Later….. COVID Lockdown
Yesterday there was a press conference announcing new measures, all in place until 6 April.
- Immediate closure of ALL schools and creches, except for children with two parents working in designated vital jobs without alternative childminding options.
- Immediate closure of all restaurants, bars, coffee shops (cannabis cafes in reality – some of these establishments barely have a coffee machine, let alone the ingredients for a good coffee), saunas and sex shops. And yes, sex shops were specifically mentioned. Well, when I say immediate, I mean they had about 45 minutes notice to get their beer down, finish pancakes, chuck customers out and shut down.
Day 1 – Everyone Home
So here we are. Back to the present day. There are five of us home. Three kids (8, 9 and 13) not in school. One husband working from home. And me.
And usually I am home all day, working. Alone. In a quiet house. Without interruption. Just doing my writing thing.
Today was different.
Battle of Wills
So my first discussion of the day was with my thirteen year old:
His brothers co-operated fully with the schedule I had drawn up. It wasn’t a taxing schedule. And it was a pick and mix set up. Starting with a bit of maths on Snappet.
An hour in to the ‘school’ day:
It Got Better
All items checked off the schedule. By everyone I mean everyone except Mr 13 who reluctantly read a little of his Dutch reading books, Oorlogswinter. And that’s it.
Mr 9 and I went for a very brief walk. He is still on crutches and it was pretty much my first venture out for over a week as I have been self-isolating.
The village was quiet. But then, it pretty much always is, except during carnival and football matches. So hard to day whether it’s people purposefully practicing social distancing. Or just a normal day in the village.
Hamsteren During COVID Lockdown
Oh no wait. Where are all the people? Still in the damn supermarket. Husband nipped in for some fresh vegetables. When I say nipped in, he returned two hours later looking haggard.
At the pharmacy he stood outside in a long queue. Duct tape on the floor marked 1.50m distance spaces between customers. Which everyone adhered to.
And then he hit the local Jumbo supermarket.
Mark Rutte said don’t do it. The ministers yesterday said don’t do it. The media outlets are sharing the message not do it. But people are still doing it. Surely Dutch kitchen cupboards are now full. Dutch kitchens, are, generally, not huge. How much food do you freaking need?
STOP MET HAMSTEREN people. Seriously, STOP IT. It is so ONNederlands. Especially as we have only just started this COVID lockdown!
So we have a partially stocked vegetable drawer in the fridge and hope to not see the inside of a supermarket for some time to come.
The Rest of Today
Having completed their list for today, including trampoline time and the partial construction of a Lego railway, the boys are now glued to the PlayStation playing Fortnite and Rocket League.
They are feeling a bit weirded out that they have been home all day but are no longer classified as sick (Friday they had snotty noses and sore throats and a cough) and it is not school holidays.
They are not the only ones weirded out. These are weird times. Weird with a capital W.
Pubs in Ireland are closed. And this afternoon the media announced the cancellation of the official Koningsdag programme planned in Maastricht. That’s at the end of April, if you’re thinking that this all ends on the 6th April…………..
Tomorrow – Day 2 of COVID Lockdown
We now have information from the primary school so tomorrow the two youngest will have two hours of online school lessons. The instructions are that I can fill in the rest of a ‘school day’ if I want. And I do want. Because otherwise my day consists of explaining the detrimental effects of playing on a PlayStation for 12 hours a day.
We are awaiting information from the secondary school. So I can expect another battle of wills from Mr 13 tomorrow.
Wish me luck.
Over to You
Talk to me about how the coronavirus or how the measures to stop the spread are impacting you and your family, wherever you are in the world. Are you self-isolating? Working from home? On the front line? Homeschooling? Going loopy? Sick? Share!
Extra
On Twitter I am sharing the best and the worst of people during this corona crisis. Head on over and check the thread out, which I will keep adding to.
The #coronavirus has brought out the very best in people. And also the very worst. Where you are on that sliding scale is a choice that you, and only you, make. #SocialDistancingNow #StayTheFHome #HelpEachOther
— Turning Dutch 🇳🇱🇬🇧 (@AmandavMulligen) March 16, 2020
Keep safe, keep healthy and stay home if you can.
2 comments