Coronavirus: NS is scrapping extra rush hour trains and weekend night...

National hallmark for mouth masks

The first mouth masks with a quality mark should be for sale in Dutch shops at the beginning of next year. The Netherlands Standardization Institute (NEN), which is responsible for this, is working on certification and is calling on experts from various fields to jointly design a reusable non-medical mouth-nose mask.

‘It is now unclear to consumers whether the product they purchase meets the necessary requirements and what is stated on the packaging,’ says the institute. The certification scheme specifies how the relevant properties of these masks should be assessed by independent bodies. A certificate and quality mark are issued on the basis of this assessment. Demonstrating which masks meet the set requirements helps consumers with their purchase choice. ‘

The TV program Kassa had TU Delft test seven consumer masks. The new measuring method, which the university has been working on in recent months, looked at, among other things, the permeability of the fabric, the fit and whether the masks close properly.

NS will temporarily scrap the extra rush-hour trains and weekend night trains

From Monday, the NS will temporarily stop using the extra commuter trains during rush hour. The regular train service during rush hour will remain intact. In addition, the night trains intended for the nightlife public will be discontinued from next weekend. The regular night network, including the connection to Schiphol, will remain unchanged. With these adjustments, the timetable will be reduced by 3 percent.

The Dutch Railways is taking the measures because the number of travelers continues to fall due to the lockdown rules. The railway company also wants to be prepared for the possible increase in the number of sick reports in the near future. ‘In this way we offer a predictable and reliable train service for travelers who depend on the train. The adjusted timetable takes place step by step, ‘according to the Dutch Railways.

From Monday, the extra commuter trains will not run between Haarlem and Alkmaar (intercity), Den Bosch and Oss (sprinter), Amsterdam Central and Enkhuizen (intercity), Assen and Groningen (sprinter), Rotterdam Central and Gouda Goverwelle (sprinter) and Harderwijk. and Amersfoort Central (sprinter).

Sjaak Bral continues with a New Year’s Eve conference

“I’m like that virus, I’ll always keep going!” The Hague cabaret artist Sjaak Bral says firmly. Calculated in the week on which it became known that the theaters should not allow more than thirty people to attend, he started the first try-outs of his New Year’s Eve conference ‘Farewell 2020’.

After a conversation with his manager last Wednesday, Sjaak made a decision: continue! And that means playing for thirty people per room.

READ ALSO: Sjaak Bral continues with the New Year’s Eve conference, but ‘financially it is a bloodbath’

More than 8100 new infections

Between Friday morning and Saturday morning, 8141 new corona cases were registered, a new day record. On Friday, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) had reported 7,989 positive tests. Initially there were 7997 but that was adjusted on Saturday. More than 50,000 new infections have been reported in the past seven days.

The number of deaths increased by 28 in the last 24 hours. That does not mean that all these people died in the past 24 hours. Such information is sometimes passed on with some delay.

Trauma helicopter for corona patients will be deployed again from Monday

The Lifeliner 5, the trauma helicopter specially designed for the transport of corona patients, will start flying again from Volkel Air Base in North Brabant from Monday. The academic hospital Radboudumc in Nijmegen, together with mobile medical teams from other hospitals, provides the crew with an emergency doctor and a special nurse, according to the hospital and ANWB Medical Air Assistance, operator of the trauma helicopters flying in the Netherlands.

In the spring, this trauma helicopter was also used for corona transport in the Netherlands and Germany. Until the end of May, 66 corona patients from all over the Netherlands were transferred to German hospitals.

Halloween in Alphen and Benthuizen canceled

The Halloween parade through Alphen aan den Rijn may not take place during the autumn holidays. All events are prohibited, so the children’s parade on Friday 23 October cannot take place, media partner Studio Alphen reports.

Fright Factory, the Halloween event in the MAX youth center in Alphen, has also been canceled for the same reason. Creepy Benthuizen also needs a line. No treasure hunt and fox hunt in Benthuizen on Saturday, October 24. The annual beet parade in Benthuizen was also canceled last weekend.

Two corona enforcers attacked in Zoetermeer

Two enforcers were injured in Zoetermeer on Friday evening after they sued a group of four people for non-compliance with the corona rules. Three of the four suspects have been arrested.

The two enforcers saw a group of four people on Rockanjestraat who did not comply with the corona rules. They also did not want to listen to the orders of the enforcers. Instead, they attacked the two enforcers. One of them suffered a concussion, while the other suffered a fracture in the wrist.

Longer postponement of local taxes for Alphen entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs who are currently unable to pay their municipal taxes as a result of the corona crisis will be given a longer delay. Alderman Kees van Velzen (CDA, finance) promised to extend the term by six months until July 1, 2021. Van Velzen reached out during the municipal council meeting after a motion submitted by a large part of the opposition, media partner Studio Alphen reports.

‘We are now in partial lockdown and we see that things will not improve for the time being. So let us give entrepreneurs the space to use their liquidity for their services where possible, ‘says councilor Anouk Noordermeer (VVD), initiator of the motion.

‘Partial lockdown required until December’

The ‘partial lockdown’ as it has been in effect since Wednesday evening could potentially last into December. Jaap van Dissel of the RIVM tells the NOS that he expects a longer period ‘in which the numbers have increased’. The contamination figures will first increase even further before a possible decrease follows, he expects. Van Dissel therefore takes into account that the new corona measures cannot be relaxed after four weeks.

‘You first want to see that there is an effect on the number of infections, and that we are in the downward movement. We will see that in the coming weeks. Depending on how much has responded to the measures of September 29, this will happen earlier or later. How long exactly, that is a guess. We take into account that December is also necessary. ‘

No Dutch interest in Chinese vaccine

China expects to launch the first effective corona vaccine on the market within weeks. And probably two more will follow this year. But the Netherlands is not interested, even if the Chinese vaccines seem safe according to experts.

While all of Europe yearns for a cure for corona, a laboratory in the Chinese capital Beijing is putting the finishing touches on the first working vaccine. Where Western drug giants such as AstraZeneca and Pfizer aim for the first quarter of 2021 – ‘at the earliest’ -, a spokesman for the Chinese state pharmaceutical company Sinopharm says her company expects to bring the vaccine to the market within a few weeks. : ‘We are aiming for November’, the AD reports.

There is little chance that the Netherlands will buy a Chinese vaccine. Last summer, all European member states promised to purchase a vaccine from the British-Swedish AstraZeneca when it comes onto the market. And once a vaccine from Leiden pharmaceutical company Janssen Pharmaceutica is admitted to the European market, the Netherlands will purchase 7.8 million vaccines.

Corona infection in at least half of secondary schools

At least one corona infection has been reported since August in at least 342 of the 648 Dutch secondary schools. This emerges from an inventory by Nieuwsuur and BD Dataplan. These are infections reported in public sources and internal reports from schools. GGDs or other agencies do not keep a central record of where infections take place.

Of the 342 schools with an infection, more than ten infections have been reported in 44. Seven secondary schools have been closed completely due to an outbreak.

The CNV Education trade union is hearing increasing concerns among teachers and schools, says chairman Jan de Vries. ‘More and more lessons are dropped out, there are more and more students who are forced to sit at home. Schools must try to keep offering the lessons with art and flying work. ‘

Coronakaart

How many infections were there in your municipality? On our corona dashboard you can see, among other things, the current risk level of your region and the daily hospital admissions.

read here Friday’s live blog back.