The two firms that employ the highest number of labors in the Netherlands are publicly appealing to the populace to go back to obeying the basic Covid-19 regulations, warning a sudden surge is inevitable.
Within a week period ending last Tuesday, the public health institute RIVM has reported a 64 percent rise in new infections.
In the joint statement released by MKB-Nederland and VNO-NCW, the employers said, “Those that show signs of infection should adequately ventilate and do their jobs from home – it’s paramount to do that at the moment as infection cases in the Netherlands is growing even before the start of the holidays.”
Employers struggling with shortage of staff are worried about more shortages from the virus as infection count grows. They are optimistic that by acting now, an autumn sit-at-home may be avoided.
Furthermore, the statement read, “It will take a collective action to stop the spread and that is not an exaggeration. If we allow the virus to disseminate rapidly, we risk another lockdown.”
They believe this is crucial since the cabinet clearly spelled it out that no company will get any form of compensation for short-term actions.
The firms are calling on the government clearly highlight the steps for handling new outbreak. Businesses are doing their bit within their sector the firms highlighted. “However, Covid-19 threat cannot be limited to businesses alone but businesses tend to bear the bulk of the consequence of a new outbreak while the government’s action comes late.”
Autumn
In the beginning of June, Ernst Kuipers, the Minister of Health spoke to MPs saying the threat to millions of citizens contracting the virus in autumn is real, but the government wants to avoid massive lockdowns.
According to the minister, firms operating in retail, education, and travel should take a stance on when to implement regulations like social distancing, screens, and one-way systems to minimize infection.
The government may ditch the plan that is sector-based it there is massive epidemic.