Venlo is one of the major carnival cities. The hospital there, VieCuri, says: “Based on data from previous years, we are preparing as well as possible. We have scenarios in place.”
Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital (ETZ) in Tilburg, where the first corona infection in the Netherlands was diagnosed three years ago, is “not very concerned about the upcoming carnival period. We know from the period before corona that the number of virus infections will increase, that won’t be any different now.” Doctor-microbiologist Jean-Luc Murk of the ETZ does not expect a new major corona peak to come now, “because society has built up sufficient immunity for it”.
No problem
Hospital Zuyderland (in Heerlen and Sittard, among others) is also not worried. The parties can lead to more respiratory infections, but the hospital expects that this increase can be absorbed “without having to immediately scale down other care”.
According to the Canisius Wilhelmina Hospital (CWZ) in Nijmegen, infectious diseases can easily spread during carnival, but it helps that young people in particular celebrate the party. “Carnival is a fun and important folk festival. If young, relatively healthy people get a flu or a cold, it’s not that problematic.” The hospital advises people who are at risk of a corona or flu infection to “avoid busy places such as carnival”.
No adjustments
The carnival celebrations do not only come from the south. Every year people also go from above the rivers to places like Oeteldonk (Den Bosch) or Kielegat (Breda). But also the hospitals further north are not worried about returnees. For example, Ikazia in Rotterdam reports that people in that region themselves do not really participate in carnival. Hospital Antonius (Sneek) also says: “no adjustments are necessary in our organization especially for this period.”
The Diakonessenhuis in Utrecht says that although there is “always a chance” of small revivals of a virus when many people come together, “we do not expect these to be problematic numbers”.
Other hospitals, such as Tjongerschans in Heerenveen, the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam and Gelderse Vallei in Ede, give similar answers. The latter hospital says it is prepared for an increase in the number of respiratory infections in the winter anyway.
By: ANP