I don't know, but I live in the Netherlands (as an expat) and their approach to healthcare is legendary for its sloppiness. The most common joke is about doctors responding to any health complaint by handing some paracetamol and saying "come back in two weeks if you don't feel better".

Three days ago the government held a special meeting about the coronavirus, in which they deliberated that people should stop shaking hands. That's all. They tell people who have come back from a high risk area and have flu symptoms NOT to call their gp and just stay home.

That's the generally accepted advice, unless you have shortness of breath.

Do you happen to be a dutch doctor?

No I just read the public guidance, e.g. from the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/st...

The German perspective is, that their hospital system, especially regarding infections and diseases, is the best practice everyone should follow.

Nevertheless health care outcomes on average are pretty good, if you look at things like life expectancy...

I'm not saying healthcare is bad ("sloppiness" wasn't a good choice of a term). In fact it's very well organised.

It's more that the Dutch seem to be extremely... relaxed, maybe a bit fatalistic, about illness. It's a "suck it up" attitude. The fact that they're so slow in taking action now doesn't surprise me.

Maybe cultural. One of the reasons I love working with the Dutch is their calm professional approach to things. Not the worst trait to have in times of crisis.

In the 2018/2019 period there were approximately 400,000 cases of influenza and 2,900 extra deaths. Approximately 0.7%.

https://www.rivm.nl/sites/default/files/2019-09/TG_123539_01...