Dutch court approves government’s use of pandemic curfew measures

Ruling deals blow to anti-lockdown group ‘Virustruth’, which challenged the government’s controversial curfew.

A Dutch appeals court ruled Friday that the government was entitled to use an emergency law to underpin its coronavirus curfew. The ruling overturned a judge’s decision earlier this month that the government overstepped its legal powers. In a clear victory for the government over a group called Viruswaarheid — Virustruth — that opposes the lockdown, the appeals court also said that the 9 pm – 4:30 am curfew introduced on January 23 was a proportional measure to tackle the COVID-19 crisis.