- 1,329 new COVID-19 infections were reported over the past week, RIVM writes in their weekly update on Tuesday 28 July. That is 342 more than the number of confirmed cases reported last week and 795 more than the week before that. Hospital admissions (current or previous) due to COVID-19 were reported during the past week for 23 patients. That is 4 more than last week. 9 deaths of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients were reported, 2 more than the week before.The number of new people who tested positive in the Netherlands continues to increase. In the GGD test lanes, the number of tests increased by almost 23,000 compared to the previous week. The percentage of positive tests remained the same as a week earlier: 1.0%. Just like last week, the reproduction number is above 1. A detailed news item about the increase can be found on their website.
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- Leiden-based pharmaceutical company Janssen Vaccines, part of the big American pharmaceutical group Johnson & Johnson, started testing a potential vaccine against the coronavirus on humans, and will test its experimental corona vaccine on humans in the Netherlands, probably as early as September, the company said on Monday.The first tests will be done on 1,045 healthy adults in the United States and Belgium. If all goes well, testing will be expanded to the Netherlands, Spain and Germany in September, research leader Hanneke Schuitemaker said to Nieuwsuur. Parent company Jonson & Johnson initially expected that the so called clinical trial phase will only start in September, but a successful preclinical phase accelerated the development of the vaccine.The clinical phase will mainly test whether the vaccine is safe and what the possible side effects are. The actual effect of the vaccine will only be tested at a later stage, Johan van Hoof, head of Janssen’s vaccine program said to Flemish broadcaster VRT. “We hope to start that phase in September,” he said. “Then a lot more people will be recruited and then we’ll really see if the vaccine really protects against the virus, or prevents a serious illness caused by the virus.”
The expanded testing in September will focus on whether smaller doses of the vaccine are also effective, Dutch virologist Schuitemaker said to Nieuwsuur. “In the study that has now started, participants who get two vaccinations receive the doses eight weeks apart. We think that this will give the best immune response. In September we will see whether it is possible with less vaccine and whether that interval can also be shorter.”
If all goes well, Janssen thinks the vaccine could be ready in the first half of 2021. This puts the Leiden-based pharmaceutical behind four other companies that are already in phase 3 of testing, in which the potential vaccine is administered to much larger groups of people. The Dutch government, with three other European countries, ordered 3 million vaccines from one of these companies, AstraZeneca, who hope to have the first vaccines ready by the end of this year.
They are also discussing possible orders with Janssen, Schuitemaker said. “No reservations have been made with us yet. The US government is investing in our development process, so we may give something back, but we will produce a billion vaccines by the end of 2021, more than we will put away there. We are making a vaccine to make available to the world.”
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- The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has immediately changed the travel advice for the city of Barcelona from code yellow to orange, which means that all but essential trips to the region are strongly discouraged. The essential-trips-only travel advice also applies to the suburbs around Barcelona.”If you’re in this area now, think about ending your stay early,” the ministry said. Dutch travelers returning from the Barcelona region are also urgently advised to quarantine at home for two weeks and monitor their health.Antwerp in Belgium also implemented extra measures against the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The province is home to half of all coronavirus infections in Belgium, NOS reports. “The epidemiological situation unfortunately forces us to take additional appropriate measures on top of the additional measures taken by the National Security Council,” provincial director Cathy Berx said.
A curfew will apply in the province – everyone must be at home between 11:30 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Everyone aged 12 or older must wear a face mask in public spaces and in areas where social distancing is impossible. The catering industry must close by 11:00 p.m. at the latest. Individual contact sports are prohibited, as are team sports for athletes aged 18 or older. working from home is mandatory unless it is impossible. Events are canceled and fitness centers and banquet halls are closed.
“Partying is absolutely forbidden,” Berx said. “Don’t leave the city to party elsewhere. Conversely, we really recommend that people not come to the Antwerp region for the sake of your own health.”
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- Thousands of children are going to school this summer, during their vacation. This is how they can get rid of the learning gap that was caused by the corona crisis. Although it is not yet certain whether summer schools are actually effective.School leaders estimate that the performance of 16% of children has declined due to the school closures, which is mostly in language, math and reading. The Ministry of Education has made 244 million euros available to work on this. Schools spend this money on summer programs, but also extra lessons in the fall or weekend.Many summer schools have seen registrations rise considerably this year. For example in Almere, where the number of registrations has doubled, from 250 to 508 students. “As a result, we now teach at three locations in Almere, there is a lot of interest,” says Benny Velthuis of the Almeerse Scholen Groep.
The number of registrations is also increasing in Rotterdam, Zaandam and Eindhoven. Cities such as Hoorn and Enschede have started summer schools for the first time. 441 elementary and 75 secondary schools applied for a subsidy for a special summer program, which allows children to attend a summer school for free.
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- Of the tens of thousands of money laundering reports from banks every year, only very few lead to criminal cases, Trouw writes on 27 July. To combat money laundering, banks are required to report any unusual transactions they come across to their customers.The Public Prosecution Service confirms that it is not tracked how many of these suspicious transactions lead to criminal cases, but that it concerns a few dozen in recent years. That low number would be because the quality of the reports is low and because a lot of research is still needed after a report, says Brigitte Unger, Utrecht professor and authority on money laundering.”A suspicious transaction is not yet a suspicion,” says the Public Prosecution Service. “However, all reports of suspicious transactions are useful. Even if something does not immediately lead to suspicion, at some point the information can help us further.”
Banks have been repeatedly criticized in recent years for not doing enough to detect money laundering, and have now set up departments to detect money laundering, but in September 2019 the Dutch Banking Association (NVB) reported that too many criminal transactions remain out of the sight of banks and that there is therefore a need for better cooperation.
In order to ensure that more of the tens of thousands of annual reports lead to actual investigations, the quality of those reports will first have to increase, says Professor Unger. Only then can the Public Prosecution Service trust that it really pays to invest time.
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- The ANWB wants employers to focus on telework even after the corona crisis. According to the union, the majority of the Dutch also want to work from home after the pandemic, the interest group says on Monday on the basis of a survey .60% of the approximately two thousand Dutch respondents say they want to work from home two or more days a week after the corona crisis. One fifth of the respondents would like to come back to the office five days a week.The union also notes that the large amount of home workers means fewer traffic jams during rush hour. However, the traffic intensity on the roads is again at the same level as before the corona crisis. According to ANWB, an incentive to work from home is a good way to limit traffic jams.
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- The sale of bicycles does benefit from the new normal, with consumers taking the bicycle more often because of health and the environment. Despite the lockdowns, European market leader Accell saw turnover rise in the first half of the year, mainly thanks to the month of June in which more than 50% more was spent on bicycles and accessories.The bicycle repairer reported this on Friday when the half-year figures were presented. “The pandemic has sparked interest among consumers and governments across Europe as an alternative to healthy, safe and green mobility,” said CEO Ton Anbeek.The maker of Batavus, Koga, Raleigh, Sparta and Babboe, among others, expects to benefit from this trend for the time being. In the short term, Accell, like all companies, has an up-and-coming look at the outlook, as much depends on how the corona virus develops.Sales for the first six months of the year were 4% higher at EUR 677 million. The profit decreased, by about 10 million euros. According to financial manager Ruben Baldew, this is because Accell earned less per bicycle. “Costs were higher, partly because factories were down,” said the CFO. “Also, when many stores were closed due to lockdowns, we sold discounted bikes in stores that were open.”
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