Latest blog articles

Not out of possibility, but out of necessity

The last couple of weeks of 2021 were dominated by the cross-border nature of the COVID-19 crisis, and the fight against it. While the Netherlands went into the holiday season under a lockdown, complete closures were largely absent in Germany and...

Continued disproportionate impact on daily life in the border region

With the circulation of the Coronavirus, governments are trying to restrict the movement of people. Staying at home and limiting unnecessary travel and visits is a frequently used and successful recipe against the flare-ups of...

It feels sometimes as if the whole world of science is working exclusively on finding a cure for COVID-19. If you are looking at the search for an effective vaccine, it was recently published in The New York Times that more than 130 vaccine candidates are currently in the pipeline, which is still...

In the current phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries across Europe are fortunately seeing a decrease in detected infections, hospital admissions and deaths. This is the effect of lockdown policies with different elements but with the common denominator of social distancing, travel restrictions...

With every month, every week that passes, we’re seeing the publication of more and more medical data and studies on COVID-19. A friend of mine who is the editor of a very reputable international medical journal told me recently that they get more than 100 submissions per day that involve research on...

Comparing figures on corona infections and mortality can be misleading

The number of people dying in Belgium from the effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is higher than in neighbouring countries. This high mortality rate makes it seem as if Belgium is not doing as well as its neighbours. The...

After the press conference last Tuesday, we now know that the restrictions on our lives will only be slightly lifted in an attempt to slowly and carefully return to something we once called ‘normal life’. The Netherlands is also choosing an approach that epidemiologists are calling ‘the hammer and...

Creativity needed more than ever in the creative industry

The Corona-crisis and the lockdown hits severely, and particularly the cultural and creative industries. Already a traditionally precarious industry not having deep pockets, COVID‑19 knocks out most core activities of the sector. Concerts...

Everyone agrees that we are living in a very special time, to say the least, in a situation that none of us has ever experienced. We are also exposed to news articles and opinions on a daily basis that discuss the way forward and the decisions to be taken. Should the (partial) lockdown of the...

We are beginning to hear some good news in these challenging times. The physical distancing measures seem to be working in many countries, including the Netherlands. And the rate of infection is slowing somewhat, even in disease hotspots such as Italy and Spain. In many places, therefore...