More local councils are cancelling the Carnaval kick-off festivities on November 11 following the decision to do so by mayors in northern and central Limburg.

Zuid-Limburg and Noord-Brabant had initially said the festivities there would go ahead as planned but now the mayors of  Heerlen, Kerkrade and Brunssum have also cancelled.

‘I had a phone call from the Zuyderland hospital telling me they had no choice but to declare a stop on admissions for coronavirus patients. That has led to a re-evaluation,’ Heerlen mayor Roel Wever told local broadcaster 1Limburg.

Last week, the official launch in Roermond, which would have been attended by some 17,000 people, was cancelled. November 11 is the day when preparations for the main event start and the new Carnaval prince is announced. Carnaval proper takes place from February 27 to March 1 next year.

UMC Maastricht medical chief Helen Mertens had earlier called for the cancellation of all Carnaval festivities on the 11th. ‘We have had to halt admissions in other hospitals in Limburg. That is causing enough disruption already and big events and more spread are not going to help,’ she told current affairs programme Nieuwsuur.