Virologist Marion Koopmans at the table at Op1.
Photo: Op1 / NPO
“We are in the middle of a corona wave, but the cabinet does not really consider measures necessary,” he began Op1presenter Elles de Bruin’s broadcast last night. You may not be fully aware of it, but it’s true. The number of coronavirus particles in the sewer is in fact higher than when the omikron variant emerged in the Netherlands and the country had to be locked. Yet the government does very little. Is that the right choice, or are corona measures necessary again?
To answer that question, two well-known faces join us: virologist Marion Koopmans and IC doctor Diederik Gommers. The corona wave is therefore going on in our country, but there is a chance that we have passed the peak. However, that does not alter the fact that the number of infections and deaths worldwide is increasing again, emphasizes Op1presenter Charles Groenhuijsen.
Metro also recently wrote about corona: Young people are not eager for a repeat shot: ‘Done with it’, was the feeling at the time.
The number of #coronavirus particles in the sewer is higher than when the omikron variant came in and the Netherlands had to be locked. However, the government does not consider new measures necessary at the moment. Can we do without corona rules? Diederik Gommers and @MarionKoopmans join #Op1. pic.twitter.com/T641yDac8u
— Op1 (@op1npo) July 21, 2022
Are corona measures necessary again with the current corona wave?
“Back with a vengeance”, presenter De Bruin calls the arrival of Koopmans and Gommers. But according to Gommers, that is not correct. “We are now working within the hospital on things that have been postponed due to Covid,” he explains. According to him, that is still “unbelievable”. This is partly due to the corona wave, because it causes a lot of absenteeism among hospital staff, making it more difficult to catch up with operations. Covid has become a different virus for intensive care units, Gommers explains. “We are still in the same mindset, but there are now 1,100 people with Covid in hospital and less than fifty in intensive care. Only 40 percent of these are admitted because of Covid, the rest because they already have another disease.” Clearly: it all seems a lot less serious. Does that mean that the cabinet is doing well by not taking corona measures?
Marion Koopmans emphasizes that due to the increase in the number of virus particles in the sewer, we see that there is still a lot of circulation of the virus. “We will continue to suffer from it, because there are many infections and therefore many possibilities for the virus to change.” According to her, we are now dealing with variant BA.5 and “a number of new ones are already in sight”. The virus remains unpredictable, she says.
Bee #op1. The only message from Gommers and Koopmans was: be careful with the elderly. Well. Totally agree.
And then we go on with life. Otherwise society will disintegrate.
And Rob Jetten hints that he doesn’t want any more lockdowns.
— Hans van Tellingen (@hansvantelling) July 21, 2022
#Gommers : ‘There are less than 50 people on the ICs with covid’ #Op1 pic.twitter.com/eSOW7BSwY0
— j. tolsma (@tolsmageneva) July 21, 2022
Koopmans at Op1: ‘Nobody wants to take that step back’
According to Gommers, we have closed the country for a long time to protect the elderly and the vulnerable “and now we are turning it around, but those people are still at risk”. “People who come to the hospital are almost all over 60.” It is therefore important for that group and parent to get the second booster. Gommers: “It is fine that we give it less attention, but that group really needs that second booster.”
We hear little about corona from the new Minister of Health, Ernst Kuipers. Should he take steps? According to Gommers, it is hoped that the IC will not be so taxed again, but we all wanted a new approach. “The cabinet has now decided that and then you have to accept it. That does mean that we ourselves (as citizens, ed.) have to take more responsibility.” In addition, Koopmans emphasizes that sectors themselves have had to draw up a plan for when the situation looks serious again. She wants to trust that sectors actually do that, “but I have yet to see it”. “Who wants to take that step back now? I don’t think any of us want that.”
Did you miss Op1? Then watch it here.
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At Op1 it was again about the corona measures: do we still need them?