De Jonge watches the Covid press conference at home with popcorn and a non-alcoholic beer

Hugo de Jonge, who is no longer health minister in charge of coronavirus policy in the Netherlands, attended the Friday evening press conference from the comfort of his own home. He tweeted an image from his perspective looking at his successor, Health Minister Ernst Kuipers and Prime Minister Mark Rutte. A non-alcoholic beer and a large bowl of popcorn were alongside De Jonge.
Persconference kijken🍿 pic.twitter.com/psVz1EpBIy
— Hugo de Jonge (@hugodejonge) January 14, 2022
De Jonge was in charge of the fight against the coronavirus for most of the crisis, and he himself took part in dozens of press conferences on the country’s coronavirus policy. It was the first such media event for Ernst Kuipers, who took office earlier this week.
De Jonge is still part of the new cabinet. He was sworn in as minister of housing and land use this week.
Kuipers brought a fresh perspective to the press conference, using graphics on a monitor to elaborate on his position. Additionally, a different background was used and the sign language interpreters overlapped the screen, instead of sharing the stage with the ministers.
De Jonge’s latest prime-time press conference involved the introduction of the hard lockdown in the Netherlands last month. Kuipers was able to immediately announce the easing of some of the strict coronavirus measures during his first press conference on Friday.