Yes, everyone from the age of 12 is invited and can be vaccinated. You don’t even have to make an appointment for this anymore. There are locations where you can walk in for a shot. You can find them at prikkenzonderafspraak.nl. This site has also been translated into other languages, including Tigrinya and Arabic.  If you do want to make an appointment, you can also call 0800 7070. They only speak Dutch and English.

Everyone from the age of 12 can be vaccinated. You don’t even have to make an appointment for this anymore. There are locations where you can walk in for a shot. You can find them at prikkenzonderafspraak.nl. This site has also been translated into other languages, including Polish, Tigrinya and Arabic.  If you do want to make an appointment, you can call 0800 7070. They only speak Dutch and English. You can also make an appointment online via www.coronavaccinatie-afspraak.nl

Everyone receives proof of vaccination. If you are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, you can convert your proof of vaccination into a corona certificate using CoronaCheck. For example, to go on a trip or for your return trip to your own country.

The vaccines ensure your body produces antibodies against the virus. If you come into contact with the coronavirus afterwards, you are protected by those antibodies. The chance that you will get sick from the virus is very small.

The vaccine is broken down naturally by your body and then disappears from your body. This happens within a few weeks after the injection. Long-term side effects are therefore not expected. With other vaccines, you also rarely see long-term side effects.

The vaccines can’t get to your DNA. So they can NEVER change anything about your genes.

The vaccine is broken down naturally by your body and then disappears from your body. This happens within a few weeks after the injection. Long-term side effects are therefore not expected. With other vaccines, you also rarely see long-term side effects. The vaccines can’t get to your DNA. So they can NEVER change anything about your genes.

A vaccination makes you less likely to get sick, and much less likely to get seriously ill. The chance that you pass the disease on to someone else is also much smaller. So you also protect the vulnerable around you if you get vaccinated. If everyone is vaccinated, the less the virus can spread. A vaccination therefore protects not only yourself, but also the people around you.

The benefit of taking a vaccine is many times greater than the small risk of (serious) side effects. Being vaccinated doesn’t mean you can no longer get sick, rather, it is a layer of protection: if you do become infected, you become much less sick.

You could see vaccination as a precaution, just like putting on your seat belt. You can still get into a collision, but you’re much less likely to get seriously injured.

• Whether or not you get vaccinated is your choice.
• Be well informed by people who know a lot about it.
• Vaccination protects you against the corona variants currently known to us.
• All approved vaccines work well.
• Make an appointment via the municipal health service (GGD) (0800 7070), via coronavaccinatie-afspraak.nl or visit prikkenzonderafspraak.nl.
• There are side effects, but they disappear quickly.

A number of measures for this apply to everyone in the Netherlands. They also apply on the shop floor. The basic rules in the Netherlands are:

• Keep a distance of 1.5 metres;
• Wash your hands well and often with soap;
• Cough and sneeze into your elbow;
• Use a paper tissue to blow your nose. Afterwards, discard the tissue and wash your hands immediately;
• Do not shake hands;
• Wear a face mask on public transport and in all public buildings, including supermarkets and other shops;
• In you have symptoms, get tested and stay at home.

The following basic rules apply to your workplace in the Netherlands:

• Do not go to work if you have a fever or cold-like symptoms. These include a nasal cold, a runny nose, sneezing, a sore throat, coughing or an elevated temperature (up to 38 degrees Celsius). If you have symptoms, get tested.
• If a member of your household has a fever, shortness of breath or both, then the whole family or all members of the household must stay at home until the test results are known.

If you come from an EU member state, e.g. Poland, Romania or Bulgaria, then you may encounter problems at the border, due to the corona measures – either in your home country or in the Netherlands. In principle, you are allowed to cross the border if you are come to work temporarily in the Netherlands, especially if you are a critical worker. This has been set out by the European Commission.

At the moment, the advice is not to travel to the Netherlands unless strictly necessary, for example if you are coming to live and work in the Netherlands temporarily. It may be the case that you will have to stay at home for 10 days after your arrival. We call this self-quarantining. Read in Dutch and English which travel restrictions apply to you.

You do not want to become infected with the coronavirus when travelling between home and work. You must minimise the risk of this happening. Sometimes, your employer arranges your transport in a minibus, for example. In this case, the rule of keeping a distance of 1.5 metres does not apply to the journey. However, you must wear a face mask. In addition, you or your employer must reserve a seat and you must have a health check before getting on the bus.

If you are not able to do your work at home, but you have to stay at home because of the corona measures (if a member of your household is ill, for example), then your employer is obliged to continue to pay your wages.

No, that is not allowed. Your employer cannot force you to go to work when you are ill. Your employer is obliged to continue to pay your wages if you are unable to work due to illness. Depending on your collective labour agreement (cao), the amount of wages paid during illness can vary. A cao is an agreement between several employers and employees. The wages you are then entitled to amount to at least 70% of your gross wage. It may be the case, however, that you are not paid for one or two days. We call them ‘wachtdagen’ (waiting days).

If you have symptoms during this corona crisis, then your employer is not allowed to let you continue working while you are ill. You must get the space and time to recover. That will prevent your colleagues becoming ill as well.

But you also have personal responsibility for not going to work if you are ill or have a cold. The Dutch government is urgently advising everyone to stay at home if they have feel ill or have cold-like symptoms. You should also get tested for the coronavirus. See the website coronatest.nl or call 0800-1351. For this website you need a DigiD, the telephone number is available in Dutch and English.

If you are receiving benefit from the Dutch social security organisation UWV (unemployment benefit or sickness benefit, for example) and you have questions about your rights and obligations, you can contact the UWV. This organisation can also inform you about their service provision under restrictive corona measures.

The CoronaMelder is an app from the Dutch government. The app warns you if you have been near someone who has corona. This means you can avoid infecting the people around you. The coronavirus is still around, so it is important to remain alert right now. You can download the app for free! Together, we can get corona under control. Downloading the app is always voluntary. Nobody can force you to use the app – neither the government nor your employer. For more information, see the CoronaMelder website. At the top right of the website, you can select your own language.