Dutch COVID-19 patients transferred to Germany as hospitals struggle

The Netherlands started transporting COVID-19 patients across the border to Germany on Tuesday (November 23) to ease pressure on Dutch hospitals, which are scaling back regular care to deal with a surge in coronavirus cases.

A patient was transferred by ambulance to a hospital in Bochum, some 240 km (150 miles) east, on Tuesday morning, and another would follow later in the day, health authorities said.

The number of COVID-19 patients in Dutch hospitals has swelled to its highest level since May in recent weeks and is expected to increase further as infections jump to record levels.

On Tuesday the country registered some 23,000 new infections in 24 hours. Weekly numbers from the national health institute showed 153,957 new cases were registered in seven days, a 39 percent rise compared to the week before.

Speaking on Monday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte urged people to follow new restrictions which include a return to social distancing guidelines and a partial lockdown shutting down non-essential businesses like cafes and bars in the evenings.

"It’s very important that in the coming days we see a change in how basic measures are followed. And that’s why I’m calling on everybody to stick to them," he said.

During opening hours, customers in restaurants have to present a QR code proving that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, have recovered from the disease or have had a recent negative test.

At the Coffee Company cafe in central Rotterdam on Tuesday, staff said there had been some opposition to the measure and that they frequently came across fraudulent tests.

The government yesterday unveiled plans to stop allowing people to qualify for a QR pass by producing a negative test, though it remains unclear whether they have the necessary majority to enact the rules into law.

Customer Rebecca Lock, a Zimbabwean living in Rotterdam, said she would be in favor of the changes.

“It means people are being, not forced, but it gives them more of an incentive to get vaccinated,” she said.

But the further restrictions have left many angry at what they see on curbs on civil liberties.

The latest set of announcements prompted three nights of rioting across the Netherlands -- with some of the worst violence in Rotterdam on Friday -- leading to more than 170 arrests.

At a vaccination center in the city, Ana Pereira said she would rather not have been vaccinated, despite being a trainee nurse, but that without her shot she could no longer go to the gym.

"What can you do without a vaccination?” she said.

The majority of those attending the vaccination center on Tuesday were elderly people eligible for a booster shot.

Around 85% of Dutch adults have been fully vaccinated.