A Dutch TV personality has come under fire over controversial comments surrounding the allocation of healthcare resources during the coronavirus crisis.
Journalist Jort Kelder, 55, who is a close friend of Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, was forced to defend himself after he questioned the decision to treat certain vulnerable patients and urged for greater attention to be paid to the economy.
'We're currently saving overweight octogenarians who smoke,' Mr Kelder said in an interview with radio channel Omrop Fryslân.
'Statistically speaking, this is what it's all about. At some point, it'd be good to think to balance interests. How much economic damage to save people that would certainly would have ended up dying within the next two years.'
The comments prompted criticism on social media, with one user writing: 'Can Jort Kelder volunteer at a nursing home to finally do something useful? Since he thinks he's just as invulnerable as Trump should be able to, right.'
Another added: 'Why do you want to place "prosperity" above humanity? Beware: in the next crisis, you suddenly belong to your own doom group.'
A third posted: 'Since his comments about not wanting to invest in people he thinks are no longer worth investing ....... the man has completely dismissed this snobbish "HIGH-Society Figure" for me.'
The criticism prompted Mr Kelder to defend his view in an interview with Algemeen Dagblad.
'I was not suggesting to kill obese elderly men,' he said. 'Let's get them better, but let's pay attention to the economy as well. We're always thinking about health, but should it always be prioritised over the economy?'
Kelder is a respected figure in the Netherlands, and appears regularly on TV to discuss the state of affairs.
His words come at a time where an increasing number of people are growing critical of the lack of measures put in place around the country to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The Dutch Prime Minister's decision to not enforce a stricter lockdown on the Netherlands has been subject to criticism as well in recent days as number of cases have reached more than 19,500. There have been 2,101 deaths.
People do not need official documents to leave the house, and are still allowed to travel cross country without having to provide any justification.
Concerned citizens pleaded with The Hague to force the government into a complete lockdown, however, their request was denied on Tuesday.
The Hague pointed out the government was not required to call a lockdown, and indeed could decide on the best course of action regarding the pandemic.
It also stressed that was no evidence that the advice dispensed by the government was truly incorrect.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
