Today the House of Representatives is debating the Dutch Safety Board’s report, which assesses the second phase of the coronavirus pandemic and the government’s approach. PVV MP Fleur Agema calls for the cabinet to draw lessons from the report. “It’s surprising to me that the cure isn’t being put in place.”
Agema underlines the authority of the OVV and is surprised that the government does not seem to adopt some recommendations. The government’s refusal to evaluate the effects of individual corona measures is particularly punishing Agema. “Then you’re not even willing to learn for the future.”
Children
Agema says in today’s debate that he will do everything possible to get justice. Not least “for children in the Netherlands”. The MEP points out that most children have lost an average of fifteen weeks of school time, while in other countries this has not been the case. Agema says the cabinet already knew in advance that the effect would be minimal. “There are no such arrears in other countries, will Rutte apologize now?”
“The Netherlands was the only country in the fourth block”
Reluctance
Incidentally, the cabinet has already said in a previous reply that it was wrong with the school closure and has promised not to repeat the measure. The cabinet also acknowledged that it had been too firm that face masks would have no effect. The curfew, however, remains a hot topic. Agema speaks of the executive’s ‘reluctance’ to evaluate that provision separately.
‘The Cabinet is not prepared to look into this as a separate measure. The WTO says it is possible.’ According to Agema, the government does not want to do it because then it will be seen that the measure was not effective and therefore there is a disproportion.
Unprepared
All in all, Agema does not think the government is prepared for a new pandemic. And in particular because the assistance capacity would not be sufficient, which would have led directly to the fourth lockdown. Our care is now in a worse state than it was at the start of the corona pandemic. Recovery assistance, assistance scaling, is not achieved. From 2026, the cabinet will put healthcare on the zero line again and we see that we now have less IC capacity.’
‘Incredible that the cure is not put in the legs’
Agema finds it astounding that the cure ‘is not being implemented’. According to her there is a kind of paralysis and she hopes that the OVV report will ‘open your eyes to this’.
Source: BNR
Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.
