Chaos in Utrecht supermarket after pubs closed

by Maraaz October 4, 2020, 3:05 PM 53.3k Views

Chaos in Utrecht supermarket after pubs closed, cheers when another crate is placed on the back of a luggage carrier. Chaos, plenty of police and enforcers on the move, not 1.5 meters away and drink lines for the supermarkets. For the second evening in a row things went wrong in Utrecht after the pubs had to close at 10 p.m. One supermarket owner decided to close his shop at 10:30 PM due to the uncontrollable situation. “It cannot be maintained in this way.”

It is 10 PM on Saturday evening. Police and enforcers determine the street scene in Utrecht city center. Police on horseback loom up, enforcers pass by on bicycles, enforcers in the car drive through the streets past catering establishments and police cars walk at walking pace past the departing line of people.

Idle time

The intention is clear: parties and drinks are over, the catering industry is emptying in record time, managers pile up chairs and visitors spread out over the city. While the nightlife and nighttime normally starts to get going around this time. “What are you going to do”, asks a couple who are forced to leave an outside terrace on the Neude. “Sleeping, we can’t do anything”, is the response. ,,Such a pity.”

But where the tranquility of the Mariaplaats, the Neude and the Stadhuisplein stands out, it is busy at the Ganzenmarkt and at the old post office in the Potterstraat. Boon’s Markt and Albert Heijn, respectively, are still open after 10 p.m. and attract a strikingly young audience.

Sales flow

Almost immediately after the cafes have emptied, an unprecedented flow of sales starts here, with young people in particular stocking up on crates of beer and dragging them out. Cheers sound when another crate is placed on the back of a luggage carrier as “loot”.

Enforcers commute between the two supermarkets, where crowds are noticeably increasing and keeping a distance seems hardly possible. Especially outside the Ganzenmarkt it is visibly getting busier and busier. In the meantime, visitors do not adhere to the 1.5 meters distance inside and stickers stating that massive drinking is not the intention are also ignored.

Chaos

Employees of the supermarket with masks on try to keep the flow going and point out the corona rules with their orange vests. But around 10.30 pm the chaos in and around the accommodation of Boon’s Markt is so great that owner Nawin Harpal feels forced to close the doors, partly after consultation with the enforcers.

“It cannot be enforced in this way”, he sighs. “From now on I will also close every evening at 10 p.m. We have to do this together, don’t you, fight corona. People do not listen in or read anything on our plates. state.” The atmosphere around the store is tense for a while, but soon calms down after the doors are closed and employees, together with Harpal, dismiss all the public.

To drag

That audience drips towards Vredenburg, exactly where the enforcers are also rushing to. Because at Albert Heijn, where the branch manager indicates that he adheres to the RIVM guidelines, it is by no means silent. Here the crates continue to drag and the enforcers sometimes address a very young audience. Two minors with a case of beer are forced to hand it in.

Police on horseback, meanwhile, keep a close eye on the situation from a short distance, police in the car drive past. The biggest crowds and tension are gone after 10.30 pm. Arrests are not forthcoming. Fines are also not handed out, as is the case elsewhere in the city around congregating youth for the second evening and night in a row.

Pain

While most catering establishments are now completely dark around 10:40 pm and here you think of anything but a Saturday evening, visitors to the supermarket are still coming and going. The corona measures create a situation that especially the catering entrepreneurs regard with pain in their hearts.

Police are ending illegal parties in various places
The police ended illegal parties in various places in the country on Saturday evening and Sunday and handed out dozens of fines. In Weert, Limburg, even the mobile unit had to be involved on Sunday morning. According to the police, about a hundred people participated in that party.

The partygoers had gathered in Weert in and around a company shed. The police intervened after several reports of noise pollution. Local media reported that it was a rave party, according to a police spokeswoman, the participants also came from Germany and Belgium. What will happen to the partygoers is not yet known. “The police action is still in full swing,” said the spokeswoman. “We can provide more clarity later on Sunday.”

Corona rules
In Zaltbommel, the police put an end to a party in a business building on Saturday evening around 10.30 pm, 21 people were fined because, according to the police, they had not adhered to the corona rules.

The police in the region around Haarlem stopped two illegal parties in the night from Saturday to Sunday. Dozens of people were partying in a bunker at the Westbroekerplas in Velserbroek. Agents have recorded the data of as many people as possible, they can expect a fine. This also applies to the twenty people who held an illegal party at a viaduct on the Haarlemmerstraatweg near Haarlemmerliede.

A large group of young people caused a great nuisance on Saturday evening in the Griftpark in Utrecht. Despite multiple warnings from officers, they refused to leave and keep their distance. Reason for the police to fine a number of them on the basis of the corona rules, a spokeswoman said.

“In cases like this we always talk first. But if, despite several warnings, you remain knowingly and knowingly, you can expect a fine, ”said the police officer. She could not say how large the group was and how many coupons were issued. According to the spokeswoman, it was also restless in other Utrecht parks on Friday night.