THE HAGUE, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Dutch Minister for Medical Care Bruno Bruins collapsed during a debate in parliament dedicated to the coronavirus crisis here on Wednesday. The debate was immediately halted.
Bruins received critical questions from the opposition parties, of which some found that he had done too little to provide medical workers protective equipment for the novel coronavirus, such as mouth masks. Bruins staggered slightly and dropped to his knees, after which Wouter Koolmees, minister of social affairs and employment, rushed to his support.
Bruins got up quickly after his collapse, drank a sip of water and left the building for home. The debate was adjourned for around 45 minutes.
"Thanks for all your support for just now," Bruins stated through Twitter. "I fainted from exhaustion after intensive weeks. Now things are going better again. I'm going home now to rest tonight so I can get back to work tomorrow to fight the corona crisis as best I can."
Since Tuesday, 346 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Netherlands, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) stated on Wednesday. This brings the total number of people who tested positive to 2,051. Fifteen patients in the Netherlands have died from the novel coronavirus since the last update, which raised the total number of deaths in the country to 58. Enditem
