Footage showing drinkers violating social distancing rules in a bar meters away from the Dutch parliament has gone viral in the Netherlands.
The images, which I filmed last night, show people hugging, taking selfies and dancing on tables minutes before the partial lockdown came into force at 22:00.
The mayor of The Hague Jan van Zanen described the behaviour as "completely irresponsible".
Police were walking and cycling nearby, some officers were filming from a distance but none intervened until closing time. I asked one police officer whether they would do anything, he told me they were there to ensure everyone left on time.
At times the DJ hyped the crowds shouting, "Two hands in the f****** air", "30 minutes til lockdown". When things got especially rowdy, he asked them to sit down.
Dirk Beljaarts who represents hospitality businesses in the Netherlands, responded with dismay, "It is unacceptable! It also detracts from the carefully built safe hospitality status that thousands of hospitality entrepreneurs and their staff have built up in recent months. The hospitality industry is crying tonight and has given everything in recent months to offer a safe place to go out."
The Netherlands currently has one of the most rapidly increasing infection rates in the world. At least 6,663 Dutch people have been killed by Covid19 since the start of the pandemic.
And so, my story is leading on Dutch media this morning.
The video, filmed on my smartphone and uploaded to Twitter, has been viewed more than 680,000 times.
The hashtags 'plein' and 'denhaag' are currently top trending.
The "Party on het Plein" (party on the square) as it's being referred to, was discussed during a debate in parliament last night. Noting the irony that a few hundred meters away blatant violations were occurring, Labour leader Lodewijk Asscher described them as "a foolish action and a slap in the face of entrepreneurs who are in financial trouble due to the corona measures".
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiLmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL2xpdmUvd29ybGQtNTQ1NTA2NDTSAQA?oc=5
2020-10-15 10:18:45Z
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