News of March 20, The Netherlands

King Willem-Alexander

• Minister of Medical Care will be Martin van Rijn for the next three months
• The coordination of the Corona crisis was already transferred to Hugo de Jonge. He'll keep this job.
• The hospitals in Noord Brabant sounded alarm. They have to deal with so many Corona patients that they can't give medical care to other emergencies.
• One hospital, the Bernhoven in Uden, has been changed into a corona hospital.
• Amphia hospital in Breda expects too many patients so inpreparation of the expected surge of next week 6 patients have been transferred with a specially equipped and andjusted bus to the North of the country: Groningen.
• Queen Maxima has made several support calls to people. Among them the careworkers of the Amphia Hospital in Breda and Jacco Vonhof, the chairman of the MKB, so askhim to transfer her support to all owners of small business of the country.
• It's decided to create national coordination to divide patients over the country. This is an agreement bertween Hugo de Jonge and Ernst Kuipers of the National Network of Acute Care.
• The ministery of Defense will arrange assistance.
• In hundreds of messages protection materials were offered, but most were only money targetted time wasters.
• The past week 200.000 masks could be send to hospitals and carecenters. Each day 100.000 masks are used.
• Initiatives to make masks have started. One small group makes them from the wrapping paper of sterilised materials.
• The next 3 months the governments expects to loan 45 to 65 miljard to offer support for the economic consequences.
• Less national income from taxes is expected this can be about 35 to 35 mailard. The national deficit will suffer.
• There is not enough testmaterial anymore. It's needed to test for corona. Swabs but also the plastic trays are badly needed.
• Students of the Technical University of Delft started last monday to develop a simple and relatively simple breathing aparatus/ventilator.
• The extra senior shopping hour, prior to the normal shopping day is considered far too early and stigmatising.
• The King delivered a speech on TV early in the evening.
• People who didn't take the corona threat serious, do now.
• In Italy the highest amount of new deaths in one day shook the world: 627. The total amount there is now 4032. More than 5100 have been reported cured.
• Lots of initiatives to help people are taken, at the sametime more people are self isolating.