Netherlands: Limburg mayors defy govt ban to allow restaurants' re-opening for one day

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Restaurants owners across fifteen cities across the Dutch province of Limburg were allowed to re-open their establishments for one day as their mayors defied a government order to keep the hospitality industry closed.

In Maastricht, in South Limburg, customers sat on restaurants’ terraces on Saturday for the one-day-only re-opening protest.

”Everybody is allowed to protest for a good cause for one day so tomorrow (this) is finished and we go back to the normal situation. Well, not the normal situation, but as it was yesterday,” explained restaurant manager Hannes speaking about the protest.

“It’s a shame that other things can open like hairdressers, manicures that sort (of business), they can open and they’re closer normally to the people than we are. We always keep the distance and a hairdresser is really close to you so that’s a bit weird and that’s a bit disappointing,” said restaurant manager Angelo Brouwers.

Maastricht mayor had said he wouldn’t send the police to terraces and restaurants to enforce Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s order to keep them closed until at least January 25.

SOUNDBITES:

SOT, Hannes, Restaurant Manager: “This, we consider as a ludic protest. In Holland, everybody is allowed to protest for a good cause for one day so tomorrow is finished and we go back to the normal situation. Well, not the normal situation, but as it was yesterday.”

SOT, Hannes, Restaurant Manager: “I don’t understand it. I mean if you go to a big shop like (supermarket) Albert Heijn or whatever and there are 150 people walking around then I don’t understand this. I mean this terrace is outside, you can have a distance of one and a half meters so I don’t understand it.”

SOT, Angelo Brouwers, Grand Cafe D’n Ingel Restaurant Manager: “The mayor says to the police ‘today you don’t have to fine people, so you don’t give a ticket if they’re open’. That’s local policy, the country’s policy is that it should be closed. So that’s a difference in policy between local and country Government.”

SOT, Angelo Brouwers, Grand Cafe D’n Ingel Restaurant Manager: “It’s a shame that other things can open like hairdressers, manicures that sort, they can open and they’re closer normally to the people than we are. We always keep the distance and a hairdresser is really close to you so that’s a bit weird and that’s a bit disappointing, but we can’t really do anything about it.”

SOT, Rick Ibes, Guest: “I support the ‘horeca’ (hospitality industry). They have been closed for several times during a long period, it’s very hard for them to keep their heads up so I will support them by doing this action, and it’s allowed by the Government, the local Government.”

SOT, Koert Persoon, terrace client: “It feels great. It has been closed for not that long. However, it was very… How do you call it? It was very abrupt how it was closed and a lot of people disagreed with the measures they took. So even if it’s one day, maybe one week, we will see. However, even if it’s one day, it feels great to be out here again because it’s just the ambience, coming together with different people. People, you know, people you don’t know and it’s great. A feeling I can’t really describe that well.”

#COVID19 #coronavirus #Netherlands

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