Social aspect of coronavirus measures was not ignored: Rutte

The second and third week of April 2020 were the “most tense” of the entire coronavirus pandemic, former prime minister Mark Rutte has told the parliamentary inquiry into the handling of the pandemic.

The number of cases was mounting fast and the Netherlands, unlike other EU countries, did not have many intensive care beds, Rutte said as he appeared before the inquiry on Friday..

Events in the Italian town of Bergamo, where many people died in a short space of time, led the cabinet, to do all it could to prevent the situation arising in which doctors were forced to decide who to treat, he said. Thanks to hospital staff and Germany, which lent hospital beds, “we escaped by a whisper”, the former premier said.

Asked if the Dutch cabinet had placed too much emphasis on health measures and not enough on the social impact of school and cafe closures and tough nursing home rules, Rutte said this was not the case.

“It was a health crisis, but from the very beginning the social impact, such as loneliness, had our full attention,” he said.

Rutte held his first television address to the nation in March 2020 and he and the health minister held regular, often weekly, televised updates throughout the pandemic.

The commission is hearing from experts from across the government, health experts and others over a nine-week period.