VIDEO: Dutch PM Rutte's hard habit to shake - GulfToday

VIDEO: Dutch PM Rutte's hard habit to shake

  • 10 Mar 2020
Dutch-PM-Rutte-750

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (left) speaks past director of the Centre for Infectious Disease Control at RIVM Jaap van Dissel in The Hague, Netherlands, on Monday, after a crisis meeting on the spread of the novel coronavirus. AFP

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had just gone on live TV to tell the country's 17 million residents to stop shaking hands to help combat coronavirus when he immediately broke the new rule.

"From now on we stop shaking hands," he said during a Monday evening news conference. "You can foot-tap or elbow-bump, or whatever you can come up with. ..but from today on we are going to stop shaking hands."

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Minutes later Rutte turned and enthusiastically shook the hand of Jaap van Dissel, the head of the Dutch Centre for Infectious Disease Control who was also giving the press conference.

Van Dissel pointed out Rutte's mistake.

"Sorry, sorry! No, that's not allowed! Let's do that again," Rutte said, breaking into a laugh.

The Netherlands had reported 321 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Monday.

Reuters

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