The coronavirus creates a situation for the world, for the Netherlands and for the Dutch health care that most of us have never experienced before. As the healthcare & life sciences market group, we are confronted with this event in various ways. In our business and private lives, but also mainly because we see what the impact is for our clients. We are very looking for the best way to deal with this. The most important thing for the moment is that the healthcare institutions that we have been working with for so many years with pleasure - and in which all employees put aside their personal lives and associated concerns and problems to ensure that everyone can receive the care that is needed - in the best possible way. supported.

It is fitting that the consultants and institutions that surround the healthcare sector try to facilitate as well as possible - and apart from commercial interests - that all attention can be focused on healthcare. In practice, this also happens in abundance. We see that the umbrella organizations and the external supervisors do everything they can to take the decisions and give advice that the care provision needs. In addition, we see our fellow lawyers specializing in healthcare to publish valuable messages in which the questions that arise are answered as well, fully and practically as possible.

To make it as easy as possible for people on the floor, we bundle all this information in this webpage and add our own input to a single component. We keep this page up-to-date as much as possible, so that all relevant legal information is always 'a click away' for everyone.

General

Every Tuesday, the Ministry of VWS publishes a letter to parliament with a COVID-19 update on the current situation. You will find  here  the latest version.  You will also find the most recent advice letter from the Outbreak Management Team (OMT), the Cabinet's most important advisory body in the corona crisis  here .

In the Coronavirus Regulation, the coronavirus that originated in China is designated as “group A” within the meaning of art. 20 Public Health Act. What does this qualification mean?

• One of the consequences of this is that the chairman of the board of the security region has the possibility, under a number of conditions, to have a person quarantined immediately in order to prevent (further) spreading. You can read more about this in our news item.
• In addition, this means that there is a duty to report to the GGD for the doctor who detects the virus in a patient. Dirkzwager tells you what this means for (the professional secret of) the doctor.
  
  

Does corona lead to force majeure?
BarentsKrants wrote a nice  overview  of how to deal with force majeure and unforeseen circumstances. See also our  news item  about possible effects of corona on commercial contracts.

What administrative powers does the government have in times of the corona crisis?
Many corona measures are of an administrative nature. You are reading this article AKD about the different responsibilities of the authorities concerned serve to combat the coronavirus.

What is the Temporary Law COVID-19 Justice and Security (the corona emergency law) intended for?
The Corona Emergency Act is intended to ensure that the legislative process, the administration of justice and public administration function as well as possible under the restrictive corona measures. The Corona Emergency Act was publishedin the Belgian Official Gazette on April 24 and entered into force. The law applies until September 1, 2020, but can be extended by two months if necessary. You can find the legal text  here .

The law also regulates that annual meetings of legal persons can temporarily take place remotely, by using electronic means of communication. Our colleagues Frederike van Harskamp and Kelly Creemers previously wrote an  article about this.  See also  Nysingh 's  article in that context.

Start of regular care and rehabilitation of corona patients

Until recently, the focus was on treatment of COVID-19 patients and triage. You can read about this in chapter 2 of our previous hub . Because the number of COVID-19 patients is increasing less, there is (also) room for the start of regular hospital care.

Who plays a role in starting regular hospital care?
The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport has instructed the NZa to direct the coordinated start-up of regular hospital care. People with the most urgent care needs should be the first to go to hospital. You can read here Lake. This concerns care that is normally provided in UMCs, hospitals or clinics and care that is required after admission. The NZa has prepared an analysis of the consequences of the corona crisis for regular care. You can read here Lake.

Since 8 May, the eleven ROAZs have taken the lead in scaling up regular hospital care, at the request of the NZa. The demand for care and the supply of care differ per region. The phased start-up of care therefore requires a region-specific approach. The intention is that together with the main health insurers and the healthcare providers in their region, they will draw up an action plan to further expand the start-up of regular care and follow-up care that is required after hospitalization. There is also a need for good information, for example about the expected demand for care. The NZa will supply this information in conjunction with the National Patient Distribution Center and the healthcare providers. An expert group formulates the exact need together with the NZa. You can read  more here .

Along what lines does regular care start?
The most urgent regular care in hospitals is started up along four lines:

1. An urgent list has been drawn up that indicates which urgent regular hospital care must be scaled up first and which care follows. The urgency list is leading in the start-up of care and the financial frameworks must support this.
2. The region is leading in coordinating the actual upscaling. This week it will be announced what this will look like in practice.
3. Regions take on proportionate IC care for COVID-19 patients. In this way, all patients in the Netherlands have equal access to "non-COVID care". The LCPS ensures this proportional distribution of COVID-19 patients.
4. A bandwidth of necessary available IC capacity for the coming six months has been established, so that sufficient capacity exists during the upscaling of urgent regular care. The capacity of personnel is taken into account.

You can read more in this  letter  from page 27 .

How is rehabilitation care for patients who have passed COVID-19 organized?
After acute COVID-19, patients may need a follow-up program to be able to rehabilitate. It is important to understand the care needs of patients with COVID-19 during the rehabilitation process. In addition, there must also be sufficient capacity in the various rehabilitation processes and care professionals must have sufficient knowledge about the treatment. VWS has commissioned ZonMw to coordinate the creation of a multidisciplinary guide for rehabilitation / aftercare for patients with COVID-19, as a basis for the development of a quality standard. You can read more in this letter  from page 34.

How does rehabilitation care for patients after corona costs?
The NZa makes anoverview showing how rehabilitation care can be organized after COVID-19, taking into account capacity and funding. The NZa is also investigating to what extent the current performance of healthcare funding is appropriate and sufficient for convalescent patients. You can read more in thisletter from page 34

IGJ

The IGJ supervises the quality, safety and accessibility of care. Due to corona, healthcare providers may in some cases not meet standards set by the IGJ. That is why the IGJ has adjusted its policy.

What is the role of the IGJ at the time of corona?
The IGJ has the same responsibility, but uses a different method. You will find here an overview of current news from IGY about surveillance around coronavirus and you can read here  about the role of the IGY at the time of corona. In its supervision, the IGJ takes into account the special situation, both now and in the period after the corona crisis. If healthcare providers must deviate from the usual working method, the IGJ assumes that this choice will be recorded. In this way it is possible to explain afterwards why certain choices were made. You can read more here .

Kcan I expect a visit from the IGJ?
The  IGJ  suspends all regular inspections, so as not to burden healthcare institutions during this corona time. The IGJ will only intervene in urgent signals. In cases of potentially unsafe, distressing or otherwise unacceptable situations, the IGJ continues to visit locations. You can readmore here .

NZA

The NZa supervises healthcare providers and health insurers on the basis of the Healthcare Market Regulation Act and establishes all kinds of rules in that context. Due to corona, the NZa has relaxed its policy in several respects. According to the NZa, the starting point must be that necessary care can be provided .

What is the role of the NZa in the context of the corona crisis?
Due to corona, the NZa hasamendedits regulationsto optimally support healthcare professionals in their work from their role. The NZa also plays a role in the start-up of regular care. You can read about this in the heading Start up regular care and rehabilitation of corona patients .

How did the NZa adjust its (rate) regulation as a result of corona?
The NZa has a Q&A on its website with questions and answers about (rate) regulation, including birth care, mental health care, long-term care and specialist medical care. The Q&A is regularly updated. You can find it here . In addition, the NZa has worked out per healthcare sectorhow to declare care remotely.

In addition, the NZa has introduced a Policy rule for continuity contributions and additional costs  . This has created two payment titles - continuity contribution and additional costs - which in effect pay for care that has not been provided and additional costs are eligible for reimbursement due to the corona outbreak. You can read  more here . See also the heading Financial consequences  for an overview of financial support to healthcare providers in the cure, care and social domain.

Long-term care providers can also be reimbursed for the extra costs they incur and the income they miss as a result of the corona outbreak. In this policy , the terms found previously for full funding also the cup Financi e consequences for an overview of financial support to healthcare providers in cure, care and social domain.

In addition, the NZa wants to explore an optional achievement for specialist medical care. With the optional performance, the hospital and health insurer can design their own performance, in order to tackle bottlenecks locally that cannot be easily resolved - with regular performance. With the 'optional MSZ performance', there may be an additional sector where healthcare providers and health insurers are jointly free to design a performance. This possibility already exists in the sectors of general practitioner care, district nursing, pharmacy, first-line diagnostics and paramedical care. You can read more in this letter from the NZa to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

What does the NZa do in the context of GP care during corona time?
General practitioners and GP organizations are under great pressure to provide the care that is needed. Health insurers in the Netherlands, the National Association of General Practitioners, InEen and the Practical Association of Practitioners have made agreements to ensure that they can give their full attention to patients. The  NZa  draws up regulations for this. 

(How) can additional costs for care be declared in corona units?
So-called corona units have been set up in many places to relieve the burden on hospitals and to provide people with corona in a safe environment. The NZa, together with VWS,Zorgverzekeraars Nederland and ActiZ have made agreements that make it possible to claim additional costs for this care. This is done through an experimental performance and new regulations. You can read   more here . 

ACM

ACM audits (healthcare) companies on the basis of the Competition Act and ensures that companies that cooperate, among other things, do not restrict competition. Collaboration is particularly important during this time of crisis, which is why ACM has also adjusted its policy.

How does ACM organize supervision during the corona crisis?
ACM  issued a statement on March 18  stating that competition rules provide scope for working together in times like these to avoid harming people and businesses. 

ACM has also contributed to a European declaration to ensure that the same is done in all Member States. The joint European Competition Authorities have now issued a statement on how they deal with far-reaching cooperation between companies during the corona crisis, which ACM endorses. You can read it  here .

What is the role of ACM in financial support by health insurers to healthcare providers because of corona?
For financial support in the form of (prepayment of) the continuity contribution, see the heading  Financial consequences . Health insurers asked ACM about the possibilities for the arrangements for joint financial support in view of the competition rules. ACM considers that this cooperation between health insurers is necessary to maintain care during and after the crisis. You can read   more here .

How does ACM deal with collaborations between hospitals, hospital pharmacies and pharmaceutical wholesalers to prevent or reduce shortages of essential medicines?
The National Medicines Coordination Center (LCG), which was set up for this purpose, has asked ACM   whether the cooperation poses a risk of violation of the competition rules. ACM does not expect any risks with this collaboration.

Financial consequences 

What are the financial consequences of the corona crisis for companies in general?
For financial implications for companies in general, please refer to our previous hub , which has been updated until May 1.

What are the financial consequences of the corona crisis for healthcare providers in the cure, care and social domain?
You can read in our  overview  which care providers in cure, care and social domain are entitled to financial support. See also the  Q&A Continuity Contribution Scheme  and  here  the ZN Continuity Contribution Disputes Scheme .

See also the news item Eldermans  Geerts about the policy rule for continuity contribution and additional costs of the NZa in this context.

What is the role of supervisors in the context of financial support from health insurers?
The NZa makes this aforementioned financial support possible by health insurers . See also the  step-by-step plan published  by the NZa for lost income due to the corona crisis.

The ACM was asked by insurance companies to the opportunities for financial support in view of the competition rules. ACM supports joint financial support from health insurers, because the agreements are necessary to maintain care during and after the crisis. Moreover, it concerns temporary aid that does not go beyond what is necessary.

What will happen to the health insurer's health care purchasing policy?
Pursuant to NZa regulations, health insurers published their healthcare purchasing policy for the year 2021 before 1 April this year. Health insurers have indicated that they are currently unable to properly estimate the extent to which corona will have an impact on healthcare procurement by 2021. Given the circumstances, the NZa considers it understandable if the corona outbreak will lead to changes in this policy in the course of this year. You can read  morehere. 

What about annual accounts for 2019 as a healthcare provider?
The deadline for submitting the annual report has shifted from June 1, 2020 to October 1, 2020. You can read   more here . 

What about an application to determine the availability contribution?
Healthcare providers who received an availability contribution in 2019 are obliged to submit an application for determination to the NZa before 1 June 2020. Due to the corona virus, the NZa has postponed the deadline by one month. There are a number of exceptions. You can readmore here . 

What about the financing of PGB care?
ZN and VWS have made it possible for budget holders to submit claims for undelivered care as regular claims. The condition for this is that budget holders keep track of which care has not been provided, but has been paid. These are budget holders in the context of Zvw, Wlz, Wmo and Youth Act. You can readmore here .

What is the position of healthcare providers vis-à-vis banks in times of the corona crisis?
You can read it in our  news item , in which we discuss the possibility of appealing to force majeure or unforeseen circumstances with regard to the bank as a result of corona.

What will happen to the health insurer's health care purchasing policy?
Pursuant to NZa regulations, health insurers will publish their healthcare procurement policy for the following year by 1 April at the latest. Health insurers indicate that they are currently unable to properly estimate the extent to which corona will have an impact on healthcare procurement by 2021. It is therefore possible that adjustments will be made to the procurement policy after 1 April 2020. Given the circumstances, NZa finds this understandable. You can readmore here . 

What is the position of healthcare providers vis-à-vis banks in times of the corona crisis?
You can read it in our news item , in which we discuss the possibility of appealing to force majeure or unforeseen circumstances with regard to the bank as a result of corona.

Digital options in healthcare

The corona crisis forces healthcare providers to look for alternatives in order to continue to provide care. The NZa adjusted its policy in this context to reduce the risk of contamination and to ease the pressure on hospitals.

What exceptions has the NZa formulated in the context of funding digital care?
The NZa has formulated all kinds of exceptions in this context. You can find those exceptions  here .

What does (extension of) Incentive scheme E-Health Home ("SET") entail?
SET is a ministerial regulation based on art. 3 and 5 VWS Subsidies Framework Act. The aim of SET is to stimulate activities for the upscaling and use of e-health applications that facilitate support or care at home. Due to the corona crisis, some healthcare organizations need more technological opportunities to provide remote care. The Ministry of VWS has therefore decided to temporarily expand the SET scheme with a corona ticket. Until recently, providers of care or support who wanted to make an extra commitment to digital care around the corona crisis were able to do so under certain conditionssubmit an application for a subsidy. This option has since been closed because the subsidy ceiling has been reached. The regular SET remains open for applications, for which other conditions apply.

How is the application of e-health in healthcare monitored?
As early as October 2019, the IGJ established a  testing framework  , with the help of which supervisionis held on quality and safety of care when applying e-health. New in this context is that the IGJ indicates that it is possible to deviate from the assessment framework in a substantiated manner if this is necessary to guarantee the quality and / or continuity of care.

Privacy

How does the Dutch Data Protection Authority ("AP") deal with the processing of special data during this time of crisis?
The AP gives governments and companies room to focus on fighting the virus, but continues to intervene where privacy is really at risk. You can read   more here . Also read a blog by Value Privacy Law about European regulators in this context on  Privacyweb .

What guidelines are there at European level about privacy and corona?
The European Data Protection Board has adopted two new guidelines on the combination of privacy and corona. The guidelines focus on the use of health data for scientific research and the use of (contact) tracing apps. You can find here more information about the guidelines.

How is the consent requirement for parts of GP information for unknown use at a GP post or the emergency department handled  ?
Based on art. 15a paragraph 1 of the Additional Provisions for the Processing of Personal Data in Healthcare Act (Wabvpz), the healthcare provider only makes data available via an electronic exchange system insofar as the client has given explicit permission. The healthcare provider runs the risk of criminal prosecution in the event of a violation.

Currently, approximately eight million Dutch people have explicitly indicated whether they give permission for family information to be made available for unknown use at a GP station. Only a small part of them explicitly refused this permission. The vast majority of the Dutch therefore did not make a choice.

In the current corona era, the consent requirement from the Wabvpz stands in the way of proper detection, triage, treatment and emergency care of corona patients in the way of a patient with or suspected of the corona virus. That is why work is being carried out on a temporary emergency measure that makes it possible for a general practitioner (especially for the aforementioned purpose) to make parts of the medical file of his patients available via an electronic exchange system, even if the patient has not explicitly given permission before. for consultation of his data through an electronic data exchange system. You can read more in  this letter  under heading  9.

The new construction does not change the situation for patients who have previously expressed their explicit consent to the consultation of their data via an electronic data exchange system, and for patients who have previously indicated that they do not consent to this. Their previous choice remains leading.

How do hospitals ensure the safe transfer of patient data when they are transferred to another hospital?
Medical data must also be shared in the context of moving patients to other hospitals. However, the consent requirement from the Wabvpz does not apply to referrals that determine who can pick up because there has been a referral and only that care provider can pick up. In that case, there is no question of an exchange system as referred to in the Wabvpz, and the patient's consent as required by the Wgbo (Article 7: 457 BW) is assumed.

A temporary emergency facility has also come into effect in the context of transferring patient data upon transfer to another hospital. In case hospitals do not yet have existing agreements and IT systems to exchange medical data automatically, they can temporarily use a secure exchange portal that Phillips has made available at the request of VWS in the context of combating the corona virus. . Hospitals can securely upload and download documents, images and reports via the so-called COVID portal. The COVID portal is made available free of charge to all hospitals in the Netherlands. You will also find more information about the Philips exchange portal in  this letter  (under heading 12) and in the LinkedIn message from Ron Roozendaal, CIO at the Ministry of VWS.

Which video calling apps are safe to use?
The Dutch Data Protection Authority has published a decision aid for the use of video calling apps. Especially in confidential conversations, it is important that the sensitive information is well secured in a video calling app. The decision aid of the Dutch Data Protection Authority can be found here .

Tools and protective equipment

As a result of the corona crisis, there is a great shortage of protective equipment, including mouth masks. There is a hard search for ways to counter these shortages. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, together with a team of professionals from hospitals, academic centers, suppliers and producers, has set up a joint initiative: National Consortium Resources (" LCH "). LCH aims to jointly purchase various medical devices that are under threat. . You can read more  here  and  here  . The scarce personal protective equipment (" PPE ")  is distributed per ROAZ region in order to match the actual need. Initially, this applies to mouth masks. The available stock of PPE, the (size of the) need and the priority of the need per care sector and institution are identified on a daily basis. For each region and for the Netherlands as a whole, the need is matched with the available stock of PPE. The regions then allocate the PPE to sectors and institutions based on the regional allocation. The LCH ensures that the regions are supplied as much as possible as required. 

What rules apply to the use of personal protective equipment in hospital care?
You can find  the  RIVM guidelines  for the distribution, purchase, distribution and use of personal protective equipment here.

What rules apply to the use of personal protective equipment outside hospital care?
See  here  the RIVM page with frequently asked questions for healthcare workers outside hospital care about personal protective equipment,  here  for district nursing, and  here  for PGB holders and people who receive care from informal caregivers.

Can  personal protective equipment  be reused?        
RIVM conducted research into the reuse of mouth masks. The results can be found  here . Legally, reuse is allowed under certain conditions. Dimitri van Hoewijk from our care & life sciences team explains it  here  .

The RIVM also did research into reprocessing  isolation clothes , splash goggles and wings .  

Can I use one ventilator for several patients in case of a shortage?        
During severe crises, such as corona, there may be too few ventilators available for the number of patients. This  NVIC document describes the circumstances in which this is possible and gives practical tips on how to deal with it.

Is it possible to deviate from applicable guidelines for device use? What if an available alternative does not have a CE mark?     
The IGJ does not exclude this as a  possible solution , provided it is well motivated and documented. Dimitri van Hoewijk of our healthcare & life sciences team discusses in this  news item  whether personal protective equipment that is not a medical device without CE marking may be used.
In addition  ,  AKD wrote a piece about the possibilities for the availability ofmaintain protective equipment from a legal perspective. Loyens & Loeff  highlights,  among other things, the shortage tools from a competition law perspective.

What about VAT for the provision of medical devices to healthcare institutions, institutions and general practitioners?
In the  Kamerbief  of April 14, 2020, temporary VAT measures were announced due to the corona crisis. Freemedical supplies to healthcare institutions, care institutions and general practitioners do not affect the deduction of purchasing VAT from the provider. You can read more in our  news item .

Medicines

A drug shortage is also lurking due to the corona crisis. In addition, there are questions about clinical trials with medicines.

How does a pharmacy / drugstore deal with hoarding patients?     
To keep acetaminophen and other over-the-counter medicines available to everyone, IGJ pharmacies and drugstores are advised to sell three packs per customer for the time being. You can read  more here .

Can pharmacists exchange their supplies of medicines?  
This is normally prohibited, but because of corona, the IGJ has temporarily relaxed its policy. Pharmacists are allowed to exchange their stocks  under certain conditions  .

How is the government dealing with the availability of medicines?             
In a letter to the House of Representatives, the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport sets out his policy with regard to medicines. Two lines are being pursued in this context: (i) the availability of medicines for the treatment of corona patients and (ii) continuity of the general medicines supply for the coming weeks and months. You can find the letter  here .  

Is there room for collaboration between hospitals, hospital pharmacies and pharmaceutical wholesalers to prevent or reduce shortages of essential medicines? 
Yes, the National Medicines Coordination Center (LCG), which was set up for this purpose, has asked ACM whether the cooperation poses a risk of violation of the competition rules. ACM does not expect any risks with this collaboration.

How is the availability of medicines handled by the European Union?        
On April 8, 2020, the European Commission published guidelines on preventing drug shortages during the COVID-19 outbreak. In these Guidelines to Avoid Medicine Shortages During COVID-19 Outbreak , EU Member States are urged to show solidarity by i) lifting export bans and restrictions, ii) avoiding national stockpiling, and iii) avoiding dissemination of misinformation to prevent improper use and stockpiling. The guidelines also make more practical supply-side recommendations by listing action points for each part of the supply chain.

How are clinical trials managed during the corona pandemic?          
On March 20, 2020, the European Commission and others released a  guidance  for sponsors of clinical trials on how to deal with clinical trials during the pandemicdealt with. The guidance provides for possible changes and protocol deviations that may be necessary due to corona. You can read  guidance version 2  (March 27, 2020)  here .

Staff

Due to the decrease in the number of corona patients, the shortage of healthcare staff is also becoming less acute and the situation is slowly returning to normal.

What is and is not allowed towards health care workers?
Can you oblige your employee to return to the workplace? Can you forbid an employee to travel abroad? Is there a compensation option? Our colleagues from employment law and from Nysingh provide you with the answers to all these questions . We also wrote a news item about the coronavirus and healthcare personnel. In addition , central government answers many questions in this context.

We wrote a news article about how the employer deals with absenteeism from healthcare personnel.

Can or should I have healthcare personnel tested?
RIVM has  here  published the test policy for health care workers.

What compensation option is there?
With regard to the compensation option, the short-time working scheme (" wtv ") has been discontinued. Here  you can read why the wtv has been replaced, what measure will replace it and under what conditions an appeal can be made.

Van Doorne  and  Van Benthem & Keulen   have briefly explained what the temporary emergency measure entails. These news items are from mid-March. On March 31, 2020, the terms and conditions for the Temporary Bridging for Employment Retention (NOW) measure were  published . 

NOW also applies to healthcare, but in a  letter  dated March 17, 2020, the cabinet called on healthcare providers who are confronted with liquidity and other financial problems to discuss this with their regular financiers (healthcare insurers, healthcare offices and municipalities), in order to avoid this. that they need to rely on NOW.

In addition,  letters of 25 March  2020  and 5 April from ZN  stipulate that when care providers use support from health insurers, they refrain from relying on the general regulations that the government opens to companies and the self-employed. 

The  Temporary bridging scheme for independent entrepreneurs  (Tozo) applies to self-employed entrepreneurs, including self-employed persons . This scheme provides for an additional living allowance if the income falls below the social minimum due to the corona crisis. And in a loan for working capital to absorb liquidity problems as a result of the corona crisis.

What about VAT for the loan of healthcare personnel?
In the  Kamerbief  of April 14, 2020, temporary VAT measures were announced due to the corona crisis. Lending of healthcare staff will - under limited conditions - remain outside the levy of VAT, regardless of who the lender is. You can read more in our  news item .

What about the pension contribution that I have to pay as a healthcare employer?
If necessary, employers in healthcare may defer or pay the monthly premium payment to the PFZW pension fund. You can read  more here . 

What about re-registration of specialists and profile doctors?
All specialists and profile physicians will retain their registration in the registers of the Registration Committee this year Medical Specialists (RGS). In addition, those who have to re-register between March 1, 2020 and January 1, 2021 will receive a contribution to the re-registration requirements of 10%. With this  scheme  , the RGS specialists and profile doctors hope sotax as little as possible during the corona crisis.

Finally, see our  corona hub  on pensions and corona for employers, among others. Also  Eldermans Geerts  and  KBS lawyers  ask and answer questions in connection with, among other staff and corona.

Research and training

The corona crisis also raises questions regarding research and training. See also the guidance on clinical trials under the heading Medicines above.

How should I, as a healthcare institution, deal with medical scientific research?
The CCMO has  published advice on how to deal with medical research during the corona crisis, including deviating from protocols and discontinuing or suspending research. Guidance  on these topicshas also beenpublishedat European level . The basic principle is - according to this publication - that this European guideline and national rules complement each other.  

What about the extension of research processes or research that has come to a halt because of corona?
Research institutes are working together on a solution for, among other things, research that has come to a standstill, researchers who have a temporary contract and research that is delayed due to corona. You can read more in the  joint statement  by NFU, VSNU, ZonMw and NWO.

Eight projects are in the near future that will have a direct effect on the course of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) and public health. This is the result of the assignment from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport to  ZonMw  to finance acute research.