There are currently four regions in the Netherlands where the number of coronavirus cases is still “too high,” and which face tougher measures that could place them in a strict localised lockdown. 

A new regional approach to the virus

Speaking at the press conference on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced he had been working with mayors across the Netherlands to put together a series of stricter measures for regions in which the coronavirus cases were failing to drop, or were not dropping fast enough. 

While it seems that the national peak has been reached and that the number of cases reported daily is declining, there are still four regions where more than 500 infections per 100.000 members of the population have been reported in the past seven days. 

Addressing the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Jaap van Dissel, director of the National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM), said these regions were vulnerable because the national numbers could lead to a false sense of security in these areas, consequently resulting in an increase in cases. 

Coronavirus hotspots in the Netherlands

The four regions that currently face strict regional measures are: 

• Central and West Brabant (Tilburg/Breda) - 511 cases per 100.000 inhabitants
• Twente - 528
• Rotterdam-Rijnmond - 579
• South-Holland South  - 588

The measures currently being considered by the Dutch government include a curfew, closing (non-essential) shops, and closing schools. There are a further three regions where the number of cases remains high and, without significant change over the coming week, they could also face regional measures. These are:

• North Brabant (Den Bosch) - 404 cases per 100.000 inhabitants
• Hollands-Midden (Leiden) - 413
• Southeast Brabant (Eindhoven) - 430

The government’s decision to consider regional measures may come as a bit of a surprise, as only a few weeks ago the regional approach that was in place was scrapped, with many experts stating the country was too small for regional measures. Van Dissel failed to either defend or criticise the regional approach, but did state that regional measures can be “confusing.”