NS and OV-NL surprised that face masks remain mandatory in public transport, TivoliVredenburg sees nothing in 1G

For example, the public transport companies do not agree that the mask will remain mandatory on trains, buses, trams and metros for the time being. “We are surprised that the mouth cap is the only one that remains in public transport. If we don’t delete it now, when will we? We cannot explain this to our traveler,” says top woman Marjan Rintel of the Dutch Railways.

Industry association OV-NL is also angry. “The willingness in society to wear a face mask has been declining for some time. This also applies in and around public transport. The public transport boas have daily discussions about this with travelers, which regularly result in incidents,” the organization reports.

“If the mask obligation will soon be abolished in all places, except in public transport, this will no longer be possible for travelers. In addition, there will be enormous pressure on the enforcement of the mask obligation in public transport.”

During the press conference, Kuipers said that he will not check again until March 15 whether the mask can be removed from public transport. That takes too long, according to OV-NL. The sector club wants the cabinet to reconsider the decision immediately.

The face mask is no longer mandatory in education, the group size in higher education has also been expanded. The National Student Union (LSVb) is happy with the relaxation. Chairman Ama Boahene: “At larger study programs lectures with more than 75 students are regular. A lot of education for these students has been online recently. It is good news that this is now coming to an end.”

The maximum group size of 75 students per room, which was still applicable until now, will be dropped, health minister Ernst Kuipers announced on Tuesday. It is also no longer necessary to wear mouth caps from the end of the month. This also favors the LSVb. Boahene: “Wearing a face mask during class is an obstacle for students.”

TivoliVredenburg is happy with the announced relaxation, but do not understand why it was decided to use the 1G measure. From February 25, the maximum closing time will be completely reduced.

Events with a maximum of five hundred visitors can continue without restrictions if people show a corona ticket. For larger events, fixed seats, wearing a mouth cap and a corona pass are mandatory. These measures will no longer apply from 25 February. The so-called 1G rule, only being given access when a negative corona test is shown, will from then on only apply to events and festivals with more than five hundred visitors.

“In the first instance we are happy, because we can do more again. Especially our dance evenings can be restored, we are very happy with that. That is a huge gain”, a spokeswoman for TivoliVredenburg told RTV Utrecht. The spokeswoman does think it is “quite arbitrary” that for locations with an audience of 500 people, pre-testing must first be carried out, but not below that.

“In a cafe you can hop shoulder to shoulder, but with us in well-ventilated rooms you have to test beforehand. That feels arbitrary. I hope that measure can be removed as soon as possible.”

Relaxing the advice to work from home is good news for many workers, according to CNV and FNV. Until now, the government advice was to work completely from home if possible. That is now: “work in the office at most half the working time.” According to CNV, most people prefer hybrid work. This means that work is done partly at home and partly at the office. “The best of both worlds”, says CNV chairman Piet Fortuin.

The unions believe it is important that the workplace remains safe. “Good ventilation and hygiene are necessary to ensure that the workplace does not become a breeding ground for infections,” says Fortuin. “Because let’s not forget that the infections are still sky-high. We must prevent high staff loss.”

FNV points out that half of the working population has mainly worked from home in the past two years. “Usually to the satisfaction of both parties,” says FNV chairman Tuur Elzinga. “So give employees direction and control over the place where they work.”

The union also emphasizes that with the current government advice, employers should not force their employees to work more than half of the time in the office. CNV calls for special attention for vulnerable workers.