Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has appointed an opposition MP as the country’s new health minister to help combat the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Martin van Rijn, the former Labour party health secretary, has been appointed the Minister for Medical Care on a temporary basis for 3 months.
“He has years of experience in healthcare and knows the Ministry well,” Mark Rutte said on Twitter.
Van Rijn takes over from Bruno Bruins, who resigned after collapsing from exhaustion during a parliamentary debate on Wednesday.
The decision has received widespread praise across Dutch politics.
On Friday, the Dutch Health Ministry reported 534 new positive cases of COVID-19.
In total, the country has confirmed 2994 cases of coronavirus and 30 deaths.
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