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I'm going to do a thread about the response to the Covid-19 Coronavirus in the Netherlands: socially, in the media, and by authorities.
Awareness rose the week of Feb 24.
It was reported as an overseas story, often with the tagline "Coronapanic" https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/878297393/coronapaniek-in-italie-het-lijkt-wel-oorlog
Volkskrant headline: "Italian Coronapanic: yesterday someone sneezed on the Metro, half the people got up and moved" https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/italiaanse-coronapaniek-gisteren-nieste-iemand-in-de-metro-bijna-de-helft-van-de-mensen-stond-op-en-liep-naar-een-andere-plek~b1886d58/
It was reported as an overseas story, often with the tagline "Coronapanic" https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/878297393/coronapaniek-in-italie-het-lijkt-wel-oorlog
Volkskrant headline: "Italian Coronapanic: yesterday someone sneezed on the Metro, half the people got up and moved" https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/italiaanse-coronapaniek-gisteren-nieste-iemand-in-de-metro-bijna-de-helft-van-de-mensen-stond-op-en-liep-naar-een-andere-plek~b1886d58/
Feb 27: first diagnosis in NL.
Explainer articles tended to play down the risks:
"the Coronavirus is not very contagious via the air"
"the chance of dying from the new virus is not very high statistically"
"the virus does not last long outside the body" https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/eerste-coronapatienten-in-nederland-wat-betekent-dit~b63fbfdf/
Explainer articles tended to play down the risks:
"the Coronavirus is not very contagious via the air"
"the chance of dying from the new virus is not very high statistically"
"the virus does not last long outside the body" https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/eerste-coronapatienten-in-nederland-wat-betekent-dit~b63fbfdf/
The phrase "Corona hype" was in circulation and there were grumpy opinion pieces denouncing perceived hysteria:
"Reporting on the Coronavirus is more dangerous than the virus itself" https://www.volkskrant.nl/columns-opinie/de-verslaggeving-over-corona-is-schadelijker-dan-het-virus-zelf~b94f3cf8/
"Coronapanic from politicians and scaredy-pants" https://www.dvhn.nl/meningen/Opinie/Laat-die-ziekte-toch-zijn-gang-gaan-25401259.html
"Reporting on the Coronavirus is more dangerous than the virus itself" https://www.volkskrant.nl/columns-opinie/de-verslaggeving-over-corona-is-schadelijker-dan-het-virus-zelf~b94f3cf8/
"Coronapanic from politicians and scaredy-pants" https://www.dvhn.nl/meningen/Opinie/Laat-die-ziekte-toch-zijn-gang-gaan-25401259.html
Feb 28: Telegraaf reports the return of a Dutch couple from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama.
The couple were met with bare handshakes and cups of coffee by Dutch health authorities the GGD in Schiphol airport. https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/1085298967/corona-paar-hier-hand-en-koffie-van-ggd-in-duitsland-meteen-in-quarantaine
The couple were met with bare handshakes and cups of coffee by Dutch health authorities the GGD in Schiphol airport. https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/1085298967/corona-paar-hier-hand-en-koffie-van-ggd-in-duitsland-meteen-in-quarantaine
The Amsterdam couple were surprised and affronted to find, when they crossed the border to their other home in Germany, they were met by workers in hazmat suits and put under quarantine.
They could only go as far as their garden, and neighbours dropped groceries to their door.
They could only go as far as their garden, and neighbours dropped groceries to their door.
"This is far from fun. And also strange, because the other Dutch people who landed with us at Schiphol were simply 'released' after the GGD check. Now we are trapped here again," Hans told De Telegraaf.
The first Coronavirus patient in the Netherlands, whose diagnosis was announced on Feb 27, was discovered to have celebrated Carnival Tilburg in the southeastern region of Brabant for three days between February 21 and 25.
Feb 28: "The patient was not contagious in the days he celebrated the carnival," Mayor of Tilburg Theo Weterings tells media. Media report this was because the patient had no symptoms while he was at Carnival. https://nos.nl/artikel/2324964-coronapatient-loon-op-zand-maakt-het-goed-was-op-carnaval-nog-niet-besmettelijk.html
March 1: Two more people are diagnosed with Coronavirus who were at Tilburg Carnival. https://www.omroepbrabant.nl/nieuws/3164836/Coronapatienten-waren-niet-besmettelijk-tijdens-carnaval-in-Tilburg-mogelijk-wel-daar-opgelopen
One works at Bannink Packaging in Drenthe in the northern Netherlands. His partner is also infected.
One works at Bannink Packaging in Drenthe in the northern Netherlands. His partner is also infected.
March 2: Colleagues and neighbours of the Drenthe patient are reported to be "sober" at the news. "We are a down-to-earth people and don't panic right away," a local says. https://www.rtvdrenthe.nl/nieuws/157764/Geen-paniek-in-Dalen-na-eerste-Drentse-coronapatient
It's business as usual at Bannink Packaging. "The employee was not sick when he was working there last week. "The chance that he has infected colleagues is therefore rather small," says a spokesperson https://www.rtvdrenthe.nl/nieuws/157767/Bedrijf-in-Coevorden-waar-coronapatient-werkt-draait-gewoon-door
March 4: A colleague who commutes from Germany to Bannink Packaging tests positive. Henk Tingen of the company tells press the man was working until March 3. "In Germany they are a lot stricter with testing. He appears to have Corona, while he does not feel sick."
"We should not exaggerate. Production continues as normal. In that respect, it is business as usual," Henk Tingen of Bannink Packaging tells RTV Drenthe. "We advise our employees to stay at home if they have symptoms. We cannot do more." https://www.rtvdrenthe.nl/nieuws/157823/Tweede-coronapatient-bij-bedrijf-in-Coevorden
March 5: A third Bannink Packaging employee tests positive https://www.rtvdrenthe.nl/nieuws/157837/Weer-besmetting-bij-bedrijf-Coevorden-derde-coronapatient-in-Drenthe
March 5: Lawmaker Eva van Esch of @PartijvdDieren accuses the government of putting more focus on "preventing panic" than "preventing the spread of the disease" https://www.partijvoordedieren.nl/bijdragen/bijdrage-van-esch-aan-debat-over-coronavirus
Van Esch says a friend and her partner struggled for a week to get tested after having symptoms on return from Italy, and were not advised to quarantine.
Once found positive, they were told not to tell their contacts, or their work, but to keep the diagnosis quiet, van Esch says
Once found positive, they were told not to tell their contacts, or their work, but to keep the diagnosis quiet, van Esch says
March 7: Four more Coronavirus infections are found in Drenthe, three of them in Coevorden where Bannink Packaging is based https://www.rtvdrenthe.nl/nieuws/157895/Vijf-nieuwe-coronabesmettingen-in-Drenthe
March 7: 900 students of university society Vindicat return to the Netherlands from a mass ski trip in Piedmont in Northern Italy. They arrive in a convoy of buses to Groningen, neighbouring Drenthe, which has yet to have any confirmed cases.
Authorities test four students, who are found negative. The rest are told they do not need to self-quarantine if they have no symptoms, and can go to classes or out on the town if they wish. Students who have work or a placement in a medical facility are told not to go in however
"Someone who has no symptoms is not contagious," Jossy van den Boogaard, MD in infectious disease control at GGD Groningen and Regional Epidemiological Consultant tells media https://www.dvhn.nl/groningen/GGD-klaar-voor-terugkeer-Vindicat-uit-risicogebied-maar-besmetting-met-coronavirus-zeer-onwaarschijnlijk-25426912.html
GGD: "Can the students also infect others while they have no symptoms? No. Can they carry the virus unnoticed? Yes, but as far as is known, this does not lead to contamination of others. What if someone decides to go to work or take an exam? This is their own responsibility."
(That's from the GGD's official advice: https://ggd.groningen.nl/de-belangrijkste-vragen-en-antwoorden-over-de-skireis-vindicat/.
There is some evidence that Covid-19 can be spread from people with no symptoms. Advice is inconsistent between @ECDC_EU and @WHO as I wrote here https://twitter.com/NaomiOhReally/status/1236685565183045632?s=20)
There is some evidence that Covid-19 can be spread from people with no symptoms. Advice is inconsistent between @ECDC_EU and @WHO as I wrote here https://twitter.com/NaomiOhReally/status/1236685565183045632?s=20)
March 8: A cleaning lady married to a Bannink Packaging employee tests positive. The director of the school she works at writes to parents to say "there is no reason to panic" and that children can go to school as normal https://www.dvhn.nl/drenthe/Corona-veroorzaakt-onrust-op-Meester-Vegterschool-25434085.html
Covid19 Coronavirus cases confirmed in NL (updated):
Feb 27: 1
Feb 28: 2
Feb 29: 7
Mar 1: 10
Mar 2: 18
Mar 3: 24
Mar 4: 38
Mar 5: 82
Mar 6: 128
Mar 7: 188
Mar 8: 265
3 deaths
6,000 tests done as of Mar 7, per @rivm (number of individuals tested is lower, as many are tested twice)
Feb 27: 1
Feb 28: 2
Feb 29: 7
Mar 1: 10
Mar 2: 18
Mar 3: 24
Mar 4: 38
Mar 5: 82
Mar 6: 128
Mar 7: 188
Mar 8: 265
3 deaths
6,000 tests done as of Mar 7, per @rivm (number of individuals tested is lower, as many are tested twice)
I have requested @rivm to publish full testing data as well as positive results, and to publish regional breakdowns, as do e.g. France ( https://www.santepubliquefrance.fr/maladies-et-traumatismes/maladies-et-infections-respiratoires/infection-a-coronavirus/articles/infection-au-nouveau-coronavirus-sars-cov-2-covid-19-france-et-monde), Belgium ( https://www.info-coronavirus.be/en/news/ ), UK ( https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public)
RIVM called me to say they have no plans to publish testing numbers by region. "Other countries make other choices" spokesman said. I asked what is the daily testing capacity of the Netherlands: they do not currently have this figure.
Here's one for the archives: Harald Wychgel spokesman of RIVM tells RTL on Jan 29 "Obviously the common flu is a more real danger. But we don't know much about the Coronavirus yet. That speaks to the imagination of people and the media" https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/buitenland/artikel/5002521/coronavirus-china-nederland-rivm-2019-ncov
As Italy and Austria shut down, Netherlands continues a liberal approach to Covid-19.
Travellers from China, Iran, Italy, told they can go to work as normal if they don't think they have symptoms.
If they do, they are told not to call the doctor unless their temperature is 38°+
Travellers from China, Iran, Italy, told they can go to work as normal if they don't think they have symptoms.
If they do, they are told not to call the doctor unless their temperature is 38°+
28 out of 301 workers tested at one Tilburg hospital found positive for Covid-19.
It's the first result released as part of an initiative by Dutch public health body RIVM to test medical workers to try to assess the extent of the outbreak.
https://www.etz.nl/Over-ETZ/Nieuws/Uitgelicht/Laatst-informatie-Coronavirus
It's the first result released as part of an initiative by Dutch public health body RIVM to test medical workers to try to assess the extent of the outbreak.
https://www.etz.nl/Over-ETZ/Nieuws/Uitgelicht/Laatst-informatie-Coronavirus
RIVM advice is that people with symptoms returned from China, Iran, or Italian centres of the Coronavirus outbreak ought not to go to school or work but "are allowed to go outside for example to do their shopping, but have to make sure that they stay at a distance from others"
A note about figures.
NL had done 6,000 tests as of Saturday, including double-testing for false positives and for recovery.
Confirmed cases are now 382, but due to limited testing capacity sick relatives of confirmed Coronavirus patients are not being tested, RIVM has told NOS
NL had done 6,000 tests as of Saturday, including double-testing for false positives and for recovery.
Confirmed cases are now 382, but due to limited testing capacity sick relatives of confirmed Coronavirus patients are not being tested, RIVM has told NOS
To link to my work:
I discuss the Dutch and overall EU response in this podcast: https://soundcloud.com/irishtimes-world/coronavirus-europes-mixed-response-fukushima-nine-years-on
My article about the issue is here: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/how-dutch-false-sense-of-security-helped-coronavirus-spread-1.4199027
I discuss the Dutch and overall EU response in this podcast: https://soundcloud.com/irishtimes-world/coronavirus-europes-mixed-response-fukushima-nine-years-on
My article about the issue is here: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/how-dutch-false-sense-of-security-helped-coronavirus-spread-1.4199027
Flawed assumptions about asymptomatic transmission are still forming policy in the Netherlands, according to the experience of this woman who has learned from her daughter that the father of a boy in her class has Covid-19 Coronavirus https://twitter.com/cdutilhnovaes/status/1237765627017867264?s=20
Infectious disease chief at RIVM Jaap van Dissel says here "we get the impression from China that schools do not play a major role in the outbreak". https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/wees-solidair-met-opa-en-oma~a1609b58/?fbclid=IwAR3UE8YXtLvOIzWeVpv3boTBPV4pGHtIN77qKxv-AlH8vKvizvzOgLvlwV8
China shut schools in response to the outbreak. The announcement from Jan 26: http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2020-01/27/content_5472352.htm
China shut schools in response to the outbreak. The announcement from Jan 26: http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2020-01/27/content_5472352.htm
