This is what former Prime Minister Mark Rutte said under oath about COVID-19 – on emotions, mortality rates and crucial support from Germany

During his testimony under oath before the parliamentary inquiry committee on COVID-19, former Prime Minister Mark Rutte gave an extensive account of his cabinet’s crisis response. Central to his statement was the constant effort to contain the virus without bringing society to a complete standstill — a balance he described as “extremely” adding that the Netherlands ultimately “only just scraped through”.