Press release 04/13/2021 | 20:30
The Cabinet has given permission to Fieldlab Events to organize practical auditions (events) with more visitors in the next two months. Additionally, transportation sites such as theme parks will be added to the search program. During the first phase, Fieldlab Events organized 8 hands-on auditions in February and March. In the second stage, an investigation is carried out on whether preventive measures are equally effective with larger numbers of participants. It relates to 12 practical studies that will be conducted in April and May.
The first field test for the second phase begins on Thursday, April 15th with the 3FM Awards. It is expected that 1,200 visitors will arrive in Tivolefriedenburg, Utrecht. On Saturday, April 24th, Orange Day 538 with 10,000 visitors will take place at Chasséveld in Breda. Also on April 24, 8,000 participants can visit Efteling. In May, a concert will be held for the Het Residentie Orkest and a marathon will be held in Enschede. In total, Fieldlab Events organizes ten practical quizzes. See rijksoverheid.nl/testenvoortaccess for an overview of all studies and related information.
Foreign Minister Mona Kejzer (Economic and Climate Affairs): “The final results of all practical studies from the first research phase are not forthcoming, but the first results are hopeful. It is important to verify whether preventive measures are equally effective as the number of visitors increases. I confirm that this sounds like a big party, but this investigation is very dangerous. In this way, we will continue searching inside the treasury to see what can be done. ”
Minister Van Engelshoven (Education, Culture and Science): “With this new series of experiments, we want to provide more perspective step-by-step. More research is being done on how to safely and responsibly receive more of the public at events.”
Test up to 24 hours in advance
All visitors, employees and other interested parties perform a quick test up to 24 hours before the trial event. The rapid test is done as close to the visitor’s place of residence as possible. Five days after the test event, visitors take part in a second quick test. These exams are also organized locally in cooperation with the Open NL Foundation. CoronaCheck is used to verify the test result.
The purpose of Fieldlab Events is to investigate how sporting, cultural or commercial events can be safely organized again. The Council of Ministers previously established a guarantee scheme that will make it possible to organize events from 1 July 2021. It is necessary to conduct further research with more visitors to determine whether preventive measures from the previous phase are just as effective as events with more visitors.
Fieldlabs Stage 1 Event Outcomes
The research results of the first type (Business and Theatrical Performance Conference) have now been presented to the Council of Ministers. The Operations Management Team was asked to provide advice and indicated that if the level of risk permits, consideration could be given to replacing certain measures with additional testing and measures for this type of event. We take this into account in the discussions that we are having within the Cabinet about access tests, the opening plan and the roadmap. Other results type 2 to 4 will be presented as soon as they are available and will also be presented to the Operations Management team for advice.
