A controversial night-time curfew would remain in place, broadcaster RTL said citing government sources, as health experts warn of a new wave of infections due to the rise of more contagious variants of the virus.
But with general elections only three weeks away, public pressure on prime minister Mark Rutte’s government to open up the country has increased markedly in recent weeks.
The government was last week ordered by a court to immediately drop the 9pm to 4.30am curfew as it was seen to lack a proper legal base, but circumvented the verdict by drafting a new law that kept it in place.
In a first step towards easing the lockdown, primary schools and daycare centres were allowed to reopen earlier this month.
The total number of confirmed infections in the Netherlands since the start of the pandemic surpassed 1 million this month, with more than 15,000 related deaths in the country of 17 million.
