Because of the coronavirus, our employees are temporarily working at home. We have taken this measure to prevent the virus from spreading further and to minimise the health risk to our employees. Especially during these times it is extra important that we stay available to help you. Although our employees work hard every day, sometimes you may have to wait a little longer than you are used to. We ask for your kind understanding.

Questions? Check our contact page.

People with the coronavirus may present with a fever and respiratory problems, like coughing, shortness of breath or pneumonia. The virus can be transmitted from person to person. It is currently assumed that 1 sick person can infect 2 other people on average. The sicker a person is, the more people they might infect.

Source: RIVM

These are the most important measures you can take to prevent the coronavirus from spreading:

• Keep, as much as possible, 1,5 meters distance from each other (also when grocery shopping)
• Stay at home if you have a runny nose or a cough, a sore throat or a fever
• Avoid contact with others (social distancing)
• Work at home as much as possible
• Wash your hands with soap regularly
• Cough and sneeze on the inside of your elbow
• Use paper handkerchiefs
• Do not shake hands

Contact investigation
If someone reports to their doctor with symptoms and the doctor thinks that the patient may have the novel coronavirus, a protocol is put into action. The doctor asks for a test. Meanwhile, the suspect patient is kept in isolation, either at home or at the hospital. If the test comes back positive, the patient remains in isolation and the Municipal Public Health Service (GGD) carries out a so-called contact investigation. All people with whom the patient has been in contact during the infectious period must monitor their health during the incubation period. If they develop symptoms of the disease, they must report this to the GGD. The whole process then starts again from the beginning.

Source: RIVM

Hospitals do everything they can to continue to provide care as you are used to. The quality of the care they provide is paramount. A number of hospitals are dealing with quarantined personnel. As a result, there is less staff available at those hospitals. In order to continue all urgent procedures, hospitals sometimes have to cancel planned care. They carefully consider the best solution for each patient. We therefore follow the policy of the hospitals. They keep us informed of current developments.

Good to know
View the 'urgency list of specialist medical care' on the website of the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) for an approximation of when you can return to the hospital for planned care.

If you have any questions, please contact the ZorgConsulent by calling 0800 022 14 50 (toll free) on weekdays from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm, choose option 2.

Do you have a fever (above 38c) and respiratory complaints, such as coughing or shortness of breath? And have you been in contact with a patient with the coronavirus or have you been in China (including Hong Kong), Italy, Iran or South Korea in the past 14 days? Contact your doctor by phone.

If you have you visited one of those areas and only have a cold or a mild fever, stay at home and minimise contact with others. You could be experiencing the first symptoms of COVID-19, but it can also be a regular cold. It is not necessary to call your doctor. You should contact your doctor if your symptoms worsen and if you get a fever and respiratory complaints (coughing and shortness of breath).

Source: RIVM

Most children with the coronavirus only present with mild symptoms. They can get infected and may infect others, but they generally do not get seriously ill or stay sick for long.

Source: Dutch Association for Pediatrics (NVK)

Does your child have a (serious) chronic illness? You can find more information about the coronavirus and care-intensive children on the website of the Child and Hospital Foundation (Dutch translation only).

Some municipalities have implemented an emergency ordinance, which means you are no longer permitted to enter your pharmacy. If this is the case in your region, your medicines will be delivered to your house or can be obtained from a medicine safe. If you need medicines, call or email your pharmacy and ask how they will get them to you. Do not go to the pharmacy if you have a cold, cough, or fever.

No signature required on SMR forms
If you would like to send us a smoking cessation (SMR) form via your healthcare provider, a signature from you as the insured is temporarily not required. Your healthcare provider will instead write on the form: 'No signature because of corona'.

Hoarding
If your prescription drugs are used up within 1 or 2 weeks, you can ask for a new supply from your pharmacy. Your pharmacy will dispense a maximum of 3 months’ worth of your medicine to make sure there is enough for everyone.

On mantelzorg.nl you will find the answer to the most frequently asked questions about informal care and corona. For example: is it still wise to visit the person you are caring for? What if their daytime activities suddenly stop? Can you ask the home care organisation to take over some tasks from you? What if the home care organisation asks you to take over tasks from them?

Unable to find the answer to your question? Our ZorgConsulenten are happy to help you. You can reach them on 0800 022 14 50 (free) from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm every working day, choose option 2.

Your doctor decides whether a check is required. If it is, the basic health-care plan will reimburse the costs. Keep in mind that the costs of this preventive check may be offset against your excess.

The basic health-care plan covers regular care in the Netherlands to treat of the coronavirus, even if you incur health-care costs during home quarantine. Please note that you need to pay health-care costs to the maximum of the annual excess yourself.

Before you travel abroad, always check the current travel advice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for your travel destination.

Will you be travelling to an area that is considered safe (travel advice: green or yellow)? Or are you travelling to a high-risk area (travel advice: orange or red)? For more information, check out our page This is how current travel advice affects your coverage.

Even if you are not infected with the coronavirus, you sometimes have to stay in quarantine.

Quarantined in hospital
If you are quarantined in a hospital because you have or may have the coronavirus, the basic health-care plan reimburses your health-care costs up to a maximum of the Dutch rate. If you have Wereldfit or Superfit you are covered for the costs of urgent, necessary care that exceed the Dutch rate. Your supplementary health-care plans do not cover any costs incurred in an area for which a negative travel advice has been implemented (travel advice code orange or red).

Quarantined elsewhere
We do not reimburse costs incurred abroad outside the hospital, for example if you are quarantined in a hotel. This also applies to the Wereldfit and Superfit. Unless you or your travel companion has the coronavirus.

We do not cover costs incurred by a missed flight, or additional costs for accommodation or telephone you make during quarantine. Unless you or your travel companion has the coronavirus.

Transport and accommodation
Our Zorgassisstance emergency centre determines whether repatriation is indicated. Repatriation is not possible in case of infection or suspicion thereof. If you arrange transportation to return home or travel to another region yourself, we may not (fully) cover the costs of that transport. If you miss your flight due to illness, Wereldfit and Superfit reimburse the extra transport costs. This does not apply if you do not have supplementary insurance.

Exceptions
Take into account that the coverage provided by Wereldfit or Superfit is valid for up to 180 days. This coverage stays in effect if you exceed this maximum period due to a mandatory quarantine.

Your supplementary health-care plans do not cover any costs incurred in an area for which a negative travel advice has been implemented (travel advice code orange or red).

Zorgassistance emergency centre
Do you unexpectedly need health care or assistance abroad? Please contact our Zorgassistance emergency centre.

Do you have to get yourself tested abroad on the advice of a doctor or the authorities because you are showing symptoms of the corona virus? Your expenses will be reimbursed by the basic insurance up to a maximum of the Dutch rate (€ 65). Our supplementary plans Wereldfit and Superfit also reimburse the costs that exceed the Dutch rate. If you have no complaints but want to get yourself tested for the corona virus, the test is not covered.

Please note: if you will be travelling to a country that has a corona-related orange or red travel advice at the time of departure, we will not reimburse the costs of a corona test done in that country.

If you get yourself tested for the corona virus at your own request without having any complaints, the test is not covered. This also applies to a mandatory corona test done before being allowed into another country.