Hospitality Taking the Hit
A socially distanced queue snaked down the street outside my local bar this morning.
Initially thinking enthusiastic drinkers had decided to brave the autumn chill to get their rounds in early, as I approached I noticed everyone was clutching papers.
One woman told me she’d come for an injection. I peered inside where nurses wearing visors and masks were preparing syringes. The popular drinking venue has been transformed to serve flu jabs.
Noah Kester
BBCCopyright: BBC
Noah Kester is worried about having fewer days workImage caption: Noah Kester is worried about having fewer days work
The new Dutch partial lockdown rules focus on limiting social interactions.
From 22:00, bars, restaurants and cafes – including those selling cannabis – will be closed for at least four weeks. They can still offer takeaways. Grocery stores and off-licences are banned from selling alcohol after 20:00.
Noah Kester, a waitress at Bagels and Beans café in The Hague, is worried about what will happen after this period.
She’ll continue serving coffee-to-go but is afraid she might have fewer days at work.
She told me she was shocked by how quickly the Dutch infection rates had shot up. “In the summer, everything looked like it was going to be fine here, until suddenly it wasn’t… I think the government wasn’t expecting it either. But I don’t think it’s fair that we [the hospitality sector] are the ones who take the hit when we have been so careful.”
The “rule of four” applies to friends indoors and outside.
Schools, colleges and universities will stay open, with the Dutch prime minister saying education was too important to close them – yet.
Face masks have been made mandatory inside enclosed public spaces for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Rush hour was quieter than usual. People have been asked to stick to essential journeys only and work from home when possible.
The impact of these restrictions will be assessed in two weeks’ time, if the numbers haven’t started to dip by then, the Dutch health minister has warned a full lockdown is on the cards.
