Dutch move toward further easing of coronavirus lockdown

The Dutch government says zoos and theme parks will be allowed to re-open next week under strict conditions and bars and cafes can extend the opening hours of their outdoor terraces, if hospital and ICU admissions continue to fall

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Dutch zoos and theme parks will be allowed to reopen next week under strict conditions and bars and cafes can extend the opening hours of their outdoor terraces, if hospital and intensive care admissions continue to fall, caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced Tuesday. Rutte said the country will move to the second phase of its gradual reemergence from a lockdown that has lasted months on May 19 if the numbers have declined by 20% from peaks in late April. If they don't, the relaxation won't go ahead. But Rutte said he expects the current downward trends to continue and the easing of the lockdown to go ahead. It is, “Step Two with a pause button,” Rutte said in a nationally televised news conference.