In the dispute over the corona course in the Netherlands, Prime Minister Mark Rutte dismissed State Secretary Mona Keijzer without notice on Saturday.
The unusual step follows Keijzer's criticism of the introduction of a corona passport in the Netherlands, which she expressed in an interview with the daily De Telegraaf.
As Rutte said after a communication from the government, the State Secretary's statements are inconsistent with the recent decisions of the Council of Ministers.
The 1.5 meter distance rule to protect against corona infection was abolished in the Netherlands on Saturday.
Instead, however, a heavily controversial Corona pass is taking place.
From now on, everyone from the age of 13 must prove before visiting restaurants, cultural or sporting events that they have been vaccinated, tested or recovered.
Keijzer had said to Telegraaf: “If we have landed in a society in which one has to be afraid of each other, unless one can provide evidence, then one has to ask (...): Do we want to go in this direction? "
Rutte decided, with the consent of the Minister of Economics and after consulting the three Vice-Prime Ministers, to dismiss Keijzer without notice.
Economy Minister Stef Blok will take over her duties, the government announced.
Several thousand people demonstrated on Saturday in The Hague against the Corona policy and the introduction of the Corona passport.
"Drive out the tyranny" was written on a banner.
“QR is ID”, it said, using the German word on another poster, alluding to ID checks by the Nazis, who introduced an ID requirement for the persecution of Jews in the occupied Netherlands.