My little brother went to a shopping center yesterday and he said it was packed with people. Since shops are only allowed to have a certain number of people inside (otherwise they can be fined for up to 4k euros) standing in line can take about 15 mins until you can get in. But he was able to get his stuff. Then... sometime in the afternoon the police arrived in the shopping center and aggressively told everyone on a megaphone to go home and to adhere to the corona rules.
A couple of days ago I watched a press conference with the Dutch PM and one of the journalists asked him why there aren't more police outside to check if people are adhering to the rules. The journalist said that if he were to cycle next to a tram, he'll see it's full of women, men and children. Dutch PM said:
We're doing this together. And if people are so stupid to sit in a full tram, then that's their choice. Besides, the tram or train can decide to stop and tell everyone to get out, so that's a risk those people are taking. But we're not a children's playground. I don't want to live in such a country at all [he's referring to other countries where the police are acting more strict]. I don't want to be the boss here at all, and I am not even one. I got this position for lack of a good excuse. It is up to me now with a small team to ensure that we take our responsibility and keep things running smoothly.
It's interesting how the PM wants to give the impression of being the type of leader who wouldn't want to rule with an iron fist. The reality is that he probably knows that the virus isn't that deadly at all, and there would be no reason to deploy more police or to be more strict. On the other hand, we are seeing that the police
are writing out fines and yelling to people to go home.
The reality is also that the govt is preventing people from hugging each other, is killing people, is hurting people financially as two thirds of companies in the hospitality industry are at risk of going bankrupt, is moving towards tracking people and vaccinating people, and the list goes on. Apparently, this is the kind of country he wants to live in.
And check this out, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (which gives advice to the govt about covid-19 and what to do) told single people that they are allowed to have one 'cuddle buddy' or one 'sex buddy'... I'll just use a facepalm here
And yes, that's the term they used. They're out of their minds! People are first questioning why the heck the institute is interfering in their personal lives, and second that it makes no sense that they can't hug their family members or friends, but here comes the advice that if you're single you can have a 'cuddle or sex buddy'. Can things get more absurd? I think they can and probably will.