While there is dissonance in the government, many members of the Dutch population have complied with the recommendation to wear face masks in public. Frederique, 23, was one of the customers at the Boven’t IJ shopping center who did not mind following the regulations. Frederique expressed that she started wearing a face mask following the recommendation of the government, “I think I started [wearing a mask] around September, something like that. Before I actually didn’t really because it wasn’t recommended and I wasn’t really seeing people wearing it a lot.” She adds that she wears a face mask when she’s in a store or going grocery shopping but does not wear one when she is outside.
Meanwhile, others like Yannis, 33, are only willing to wear a mask when it’s mandatory. When asked if he wears a face mask often, he said, “not so much in public” and believes that “it is not that healthy.” However, his job in the hospitality sector requires him to wear one for at least 8 hours a day which, according to him, is “very annoying”.
Regardless of these signs of discomfort, the Dutch government appears to be moving ahead with the integration of mask-wearing into its measures against COVID-19. From December 1, 2020 a requirement mandating the wearing of face masks in indoor public spaces has come into effect. Failure to comply with this measure will result in a 95 euro fine.
This trajectory is one that is much needed. While the number of daily coronavirus cases continues to decrease in the aftermath of a surge, the pandemic is nowhere near its end. Experts are particularly anxious about how much compliance will be observed during the holiday season. The previous upheaval of cases in the Netherlands featured a peak of 11,059 new cases in a day. Whether or not this shocked the government into attempting a new approach, it is clear that they hope this new requirement will provide an additional layer of protection in these volatile times.