Headlines September
Absenteeism in healthcare continues to increase
Absenteeism in health care remains high: in April, May and June it was 6.5 percent. Over the past eighteen years, absenteeism in the second quarter in the sector was not so high, reports the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Absenteeism is highest in nursing, care and home care (7.9 percent), care for the disabled (7.2 percent) and childcare (6.9 percent). An absenteeism rate of 6.5 percent means that of every thousand working days, 65 are not worked due to illness. Last year, absenteeism in health care was 6.1 percent.
The average absenteeism of employees across all sectors was 4.7 percent in the second quarter of this year. Statistics Netherlands cannot say to what extent corona has contributed to absenteeism due to illness. Even before the corona crisis, absenteeism in healthcare had been increasing for some time. Earlier , the professional association of Nurses and Caregivers said that the increase is mainly caused by employees who contracted corona and people who had to wait at home for the results of a corona test.
Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2397720-ziekteverzuim-in-de-zorg-blijft-toenemen
RTL Netherlands hit by cyber attack
RTL Nederland is dealing with a cyber attack, RTL News reported on Thursday. It may be ransomware, but the scope of the attack is still unclear. It is also unknown whether a ransom was demanded. "We are investigating it and can't say anything concrete about it at the moment," says a spokesperson for RTL. We are currently working with cybersecurity company Fox-IT to avert the threat of the digital attack. RTL Nederland has asked employees to work from home as much as possible, because the attack is aimed at the network in Hilversum. The broadcasts on the television channels of RTL and Videoland are in any case not experiencing any problems, according to RTL Nederland.
Source: https://www-nu-nl.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.nu.nl/tech/6156110/rtl-nederland-getroffen-door-cyberaanval.amp
Twente hospital closes outpatient clinic in Oldenzaal due to E. coli bacteria
During a regular check of the water company Vitens in Oldenzaal and the surrounding area, the E. coli bacterium was found yesterday. That is why the outpatient clinics of the Medisch Spectrum Twente are closed today. It is not yet clear how the bacteria ended up in the water, RTV Oost reports . "A few hundred appointments were scheduled at the outpatient clinics today," said a hospital spokesperson. "We can't stand at every tap to check whether patients drink the water, but we are responsible if they do. That's why we decided to cancel the appointments." The hospital initially only canceled appointments scheduled in the morning. In the meantime, the MST was looking for a solution to resume the appointments in the afternoon. The hospital has announced that those appointments will not take place either.
Residents hoard bottles of water
Water company Vitens advises residents to boil the contaminated tap water for at least 3 minutes before it is used for eating, drinking and brushing teeth. Showering and washing with the polluted water from the tap can do no harm, according to the water company. According to RTV Oost, many residents find this inconvenient and therefore hoard bottles of water. "We opened at seven this morning and immediately there was a run on the water," says Coen Beldhuis, manager of a supermarket in Oldenzaal. "We weren't prepared for that, so it ran out quickly." Beldhuis expects that the stock can be replenished around 5 p.m. "We have ordered about half a truckload of extra water to meet the high demand."
Source: https://nos.nl/l/2396312
Hacker publishes data after university refuses to pay ransom
A hacker is said to have leaked hundreds of thousands of data from the systems of the Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen (HAN) after the university refused to pay a hacker ransom. That writes RTL News , which says it has been in contact with the hacker. HAN says it cannot yet confirm the leak of the data. "But it is in line with expectations," says a spokesperson for the university of applied sciences. "You often see them selling or publishing this kind of data, so it's one of the scenarios we're considering." HAN experts are working together with an ICT company to find out whether the data actually ended up on the street.
Information from contact forms
According to RTL News, this concerns data from (former) students, employees and people who would have shown an interest in HAN. Most of the information comes from completed contact forms. According to RTL, there are names, e-mail addresses, dates of birth, addresses and telephone numbers on the street. Passwords have also been leaked. "But as far as we know, these are outdated passwords," the HAN said. "It is therefore not about current data from the HANaccount." This is the account with which, among other things, students can log in to the computer systems of HAN. Last week it was announced that the HAN was extorted by the hacker, who operated under the name 'masterballz' according to RTL Nieuws. "HAN will not respond to these extortion attempts," the university of applied sciences said at the time.
Source: https://nos.nl/l/2396878
Thousands of students run out of books shortly before or even after the first classes of this school year begin
Supplier Van Dijk: 'All students who do not yet have books will receive online material'. According to Van Dijk Education, the largest supplier of school books in the Netherlands, it is unable to deliver five to ten thousand packages of school books before the start of the school year. In a press release, the company, which is suffering from personnel and paper shortages. Van Dijk says he is "deeply sorry" for the delay. “Just as the schools are fully reopening, we would have given the teachers and students a carefree start.” The company promises that all students who do not yet have books will have access to their teaching materials digitally. "Mainly as a result of a shortage on the labor market – where 30 percent fewer temporary workers are available – we have not been able to deliver all 550,000 parcels on time. Unfortunately, 1 to 2% of orders, including late orders, are not delivered before the start of the school year.”
Complaints
Complaints are pouring in on social media. “Last school year it was disastrous for the children with home education, partial education, a significant disadvantage in secondary education, in particular, and now hundreds of children or more are starting their new academic year without books,” says Bert van Rheenen. The teaching material for his granddaughter was ordered on July 16, but not yet delivered. "Emailing and calling is of no use, because Van Dijk is overloaded." His granddaughter's school starts again next Monday. But still there are no books. 'Unbelievable', says Van Rheenen. I sent a very angry email to customer service. I got a message saying 'yes, yes, we are doing our best'. Yesterday I received another email: unfortunately they are unable to deliver the books, possibly next week. You don't think that's possible, do you?"
Thousands of students
Van Rheenen is not alone. Many customers who have already ordered their books in July have still not received anything. 'We placed the order on 13-7. All she has access to is her online teaching materials. We have until Wednesday," said one of them on Twitter. School started Monday, August 30. It is now Friday, still no book package. In a week 3 SEs that count towards the final grade for the exam year, but no books!', writes another. In some schools, not a single student has received the necessary books yet. This applies, for example, to the Pontes School Group in Zeeland, Omroep Zeeland reports . The dome has locations in Zierikzee and Goes, among others. In total, this concerns 2800 students who are still without teaching materials. We are discussing it with them and are doing everything we can to resolve it. The delay is due to the fact that the company has been unable to find enough temporary workers for distribution
Staff shortage
The Association of Secondary Schools, the VO Council, is aware of the problems, says spokesman Stan Termeer. He does not know how many students are left without books. “We are talking to them about it, and we are doing everything we can to resolve it.” But, he explains, the council can do little more than insist on fast delivery. On the one hand, Termeer understands that Van Dijk is suffering from a staff shortage. “It's seasonal work. You have to deliver a lot in a short period of time. They are now having trouble getting enough people together for the distribution. There are also shortages in the hospitality industry. On the other hand, you do this every year. You could have been a little prepared. You can't just dismiss it as a result of corona."
This week
In the meantime, Van Dijk is working hard on solutions, the company reports in the press release. “Our focus is now on delivering all main packages to schools and students as soon as possible. Books that are not yet available will be delivered as soon as possible. (...) In collaboration with a number of publishers, we can make the content of the physical books still to be delivered digitally available from Monday 6 September. With this solution, teachers and students can still start lessons while waiting for the books, which will follow soon after.” The biggest problems seem to be in the south. In the South region, classes will start again on Monday; schools are already open in the other regions. According to Termeer, it is quite possible that the biggest problems are in the South region: ,,I can imagine that you can still serve the first and the second region as well as you can, but then of course you shift the problem ahead of you.”
Not the first time
It is not the first time that Van Dijk delivers late. In 2017, thousands of students also received their books late . At the time, the supplier estimated that approximately 7,500 high school students did not complete their curriculum. "It's outrageous that you can't get it done year after year," can be read in one of the many negative Google reviews that the company has received as a result of the delivery problems.
Source: https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/leverancier-van-dijk-alle-leerlingen-die-boeken-nog-niet-hebben-krijgen-online-materiaal~a3de1cc7/#:~:text=Duizenden%20leerlingen%20zitten%20kort%20voor,social%20media%20regent%20het%20klachten.
Hackers cause overcrowded warehouses at bookstores
Boxes full of books pile up in the warehouse of De Drvkkery in Middelburg, while the bookstore's shop is getting emptier. The system that manages the stock has been hacked. In total, 130 bookstores in the Netherlands have the same problem: "Everything that is listed here has to be entered in the system before it enters the store. But we can't enter anything, so the warehouse is full," says director Jan de Vlieger of De Drvkkery. The company TiteLive provides the system for managing the stock for many Dutch bookstores, but hackers took the software hostage on Monday: "The hackers demand a ransom, but the company will not pay it. Backup files are stored with which the system can be rebuilt. That will probably happen on Thursday," explains De Vlieger.
Webshop not working
Until then, the bookstore will have to deal with the unpleasant consequences of the hack: "Our webshop is not working at the moment, so we now place customer orders over the phone the old-fashioned way. We can't register the new stock and restocking either, because that all goes through this system. . That is very annoying." As soon as the hack has been solved, every effort will be made to get the bookstore back in order: "When the system is released, we will work extra hours to bring the stuff back into the store. That may be night work," says De Vlieger. .
Wake-upcall
It is a wake-up call for the Middelburg bookstore: "We need to secure the systems even better. This also shows how dependent you are on service companies such as TiteLive. It makes it clear that you are very vulnerable." Bookstores that are affiliated with bookstore chain Libris are affected by the hack. In Zeeland this concerns bookshops in Terneuzen, Vlissingen, Goes and Zierikzee.
Source: https://www.omroepzeeland.nl/nieuws/130179/Hackers-zorgen-voor-overvolle-magazijnen-bij-boekwinkels
Absenteeism in health care remains high: in April, May and June it was 6.5 percent. Over the past eighteen years, absenteeism in the second quarter in the sector was not so high, reports the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Absenteeism is highest in nursing, care and home care (7.9 percent), care for the disabled (7.2 percent) and childcare (6.9 percent). An absenteeism rate of 6.5 percent means that of every thousand working days, 65 are not worked due to illness. Last year, absenteeism in health care was 6.1 percent.
The average absenteeism of employees across all sectors was 4.7 percent in the second quarter of this year. Statistics Netherlands cannot say to what extent corona has contributed to absenteeism due to illness. Even before the corona crisis, absenteeism in healthcare had been increasing for some time. Earlier , the professional association of Nurses and Caregivers said that the increase is mainly caused by employees who contracted corona and people who had to wait at home for the results of a corona test.
Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2397720-ziekteverzuim-in-de-zorg-blijft-toenemen
RTL Netherlands hit by cyber attack
RTL Nederland is dealing with a cyber attack, RTL News reported on Thursday. It may be ransomware, but the scope of the attack is still unclear. It is also unknown whether a ransom was demanded. "We are investigating it and can't say anything concrete about it at the moment," says a spokesperson for RTL. We are currently working with cybersecurity company Fox-IT to avert the threat of the digital attack. RTL Nederland has asked employees to work from home as much as possible, because the attack is aimed at the network in Hilversum. The broadcasts on the television channels of RTL and Videoland are in any case not experiencing any problems, according to RTL Nederland.
Source: https://www-nu-nl.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.nu.nl/tech/6156110/rtl-nederland-getroffen-door-cyberaanval.amp
Twente hospital closes outpatient clinic in Oldenzaal due to E. coli bacteria
During a regular check of the water company Vitens in Oldenzaal and the surrounding area, the E. coli bacterium was found yesterday. That is why the outpatient clinics of the Medisch Spectrum Twente are closed today. It is not yet clear how the bacteria ended up in the water, RTV Oost reports . "A few hundred appointments were scheduled at the outpatient clinics today," said a hospital spokesperson. "We can't stand at every tap to check whether patients drink the water, but we are responsible if they do. That's why we decided to cancel the appointments." The hospital initially only canceled appointments scheduled in the morning. In the meantime, the MST was looking for a solution to resume the appointments in the afternoon. The hospital has announced that those appointments will not take place either.
Residents hoard bottles of water
Water company Vitens advises residents to boil the contaminated tap water for at least 3 minutes before it is used for eating, drinking and brushing teeth. Showering and washing with the polluted water from the tap can do no harm, according to the water company. According to RTV Oost, many residents find this inconvenient and therefore hoard bottles of water. "We opened at seven this morning and immediately there was a run on the water," says Coen Beldhuis, manager of a supermarket in Oldenzaal. "We weren't prepared for that, so it ran out quickly." Beldhuis expects that the stock can be replenished around 5 p.m. "We have ordered about half a truckload of extra water to meet the high demand."
Source: https://nos.nl/l/2396312
Hacker publishes data after university refuses to pay ransom
A hacker is said to have leaked hundreds of thousands of data from the systems of the Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen (HAN) after the university refused to pay a hacker ransom. That writes RTL News , which says it has been in contact with the hacker. HAN says it cannot yet confirm the leak of the data. "But it is in line with expectations," says a spokesperson for the university of applied sciences. "You often see them selling or publishing this kind of data, so it's one of the scenarios we're considering." HAN experts are working together with an ICT company to find out whether the data actually ended up on the street.
Information from contact forms
According to RTL News, this concerns data from (former) students, employees and people who would have shown an interest in HAN. Most of the information comes from completed contact forms. According to RTL, there are names, e-mail addresses, dates of birth, addresses and telephone numbers on the street. Passwords have also been leaked. "But as far as we know, these are outdated passwords," the HAN said. "It is therefore not about current data from the HANaccount." This is the account with which, among other things, students can log in to the computer systems of HAN. Last week it was announced that the HAN was extorted by the hacker, who operated under the name 'masterballz' according to RTL Nieuws. "HAN will not respond to these extortion attempts," the university of applied sciences said at the time.
Source: https://nos.nl/l/2396878
Thousands of students run out of books shortly before or even after the first classes of this school year begin
Supplier Van Dijk: 'All students who do not yet have books will receive online material'. According to Van Dijk Education, the largest supplier of school books in the Netherlands, it is unable to deliver five to ten thousand packages of school books before the start of the school year. In a press release, the company, which is suffering from personnel and paper shortages. Van Dijk says he is "deeply sorry" for the delay. “Just as the schools are fully reopening, we would have given the teachers and students a carefree start.” The company promises that all students who do not yet have books will have access to their teaching materials digitally. "Mainly as a result of a shortage on the labor market – where 30 percent fewer temporary workers are available – we have not been able to deliver all 550,000 parcels on time. Unfortunately, 1 to 2% of orders, including late orders, are not delivered before the start of the school year.”
Complaints
Complaints are pouring in on social media. “Last school year it was disastrous for the children with home education, partial education, a significant disadvantage in secondary education, in particular, and now hundreds of children or more are starting their new academic year without books,” says Bert van Rheenen. The teaching material for his granddaughter was ordered on July 16, but not yet delivered. "Emailing and calling is of no use, because Van Dijk is overloaded." His granddaughter's school starts again next Monday. But still there are no books. 'Unbelievable', says Van Rheenen. I sent a very angry email to customer service. I got a message saying 'yes, yes, we are doing our best'. Yesterday I received another email: unfortunately they are unable to deliver the books, possibly next week. You don't think that's possible, do you?"
Thousands of students
Van Rheenen is not alone. Many customers who have already ordered their books in July have still not received anything. 'We placed the order on 13-7. All she has access to is her online teaching materials. We have until Wednesday," said one of them on Twitter. School started Monday, August 30. It is now Friday, still no book package. In a week 3 SEs that count towards the final grade for the exam year, but no books!', writes another. In some schools, not a single student has received the necessary books yet. This applies, for example, to the Pontes School Group in Zeeland, Omroep Zeeland reports . The dome has locations in Zierikzee and Goes, among others. In total, this concerns 2800 students who are still without teaching materials. We are discussing it with them and are doing everything we can to resolve it. The delay is due to the fact that the company has been unable to find enough temporary workers for distribution
Staff shortage
The Association of Secondary Schools, the VO Council, is aware of the problems, says spokesman Stan Termeer. He does not know how many students are left without books. “We are talking to them about it, and we are doing everything we can to resolve it.” But, he explains, the council can do little more than insist on fast delivery. On the one hand, Termeer understands that Van Dijk is suffering from a staff shortage. “It's seasonal work. You have to deliver a lot in a short period of time. They are now having trouble getting enough people together for the distribution. There are also shortages in the hospitality industry. On the other hand, you do this every year. You could have been a little prepared. You can't just dismiss it as a result of corona."
This week
In the meantime, Van Dijk is working hard on solutions, the company reports in the press release. “Our focus is now on delivering all main packages to schools and students as soon as possible. Books that are not yet available will be delivered as soon as possible. (...) In collaboration with a number of publishers, we can make the content of the physical books still to be delivered digitally available from Monday 6 September. With this solution, teachers and students can still start lessons while waiting for the books, which will follow soon after.” The biggest problems seem to be in the south. In the South region, classes will start again on Monday; schools are already open in the other regions. According to Termeer, it is quite possible that the biggest problems are in the South region: ,,I can imagine that you can still serve the first and the second region as well as you can, but then of course you shift the problem ahead of you.”
Not the first time
It is not the first time that Van Dijk delivers late. In 2017, thousands of students also received their books late . At the time, the supplier estimated that approximately 7,500 high school students did not complete their curriculum. "It's outrageous that you can't get it done year after year," can be read in one of the many negative Google reviews that the company has received as a result of the delivery problems.
Source: https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/leverancier-van-dijk-alle-leerlingen-die-boeken-nog-niet-hebben-krijgen-online-materiaal~a3de1cc7/#:~:text=Duizenden%20leerlingen%20zitten%20kort%20voor,social%20media%20regent%20het%20klachten.
Hackers cause overcrowded warehouses at bookstores
Boxes full of books pile up in the warehouse of De Drvkkery in Middelburg, while the bookstore's shop is getting emptier. The system that manages the stock has been hacked. In total, 130 bookstores in the Netherlands have the same problem: "Everything that is listed here has to be entered in the system before it enters the store. But we can't enter anything, so the warehouse is full," says director Jan de Vlieger of De Drvkkery. The company TiteLive provides the system for managing the stock for many Dutch bookstores, but hackers took the software hostage on Monday: "The hackers demand a ransom, but the company will not pay it. Backup files are stored with which the system can be rebuilt. That will probably happen on Thursday," explains De Vlieger.
Webshop not working
Until then, the bookstore will have to deal with the unpleasant consequences of the hack: "Our webshop is not working at the moment, so we now place customer orders over the phone the old-fashioned way. We can't register the new stock and restocking either, because that all goes through this system. . That is very annoying." As soon as the hack has been solved, every effort will be made to get the bookstore back in order: "When the system is released, we will work extra hours to bring the stuff back into the store. That may be night work," says De Vlieger. .
Wake-upcall
It is a wake-up call for the Middelburg bookstore: "We need to secure the systems even better. This also shows how dependent you are on service companies such as TiteLive. It makes it clear that you are very vulnerable." Bookstores that are affiliated with bookstore chain Libris are affected by the hack. In Zeeland this concerns bookshops in Terneuzen, Vlissingen, Goes and Zierikzee.
Source: https://www.omroepzeeland.nl/nieuws/130179/Hackers-zorgen-voor-overvolle-magazijnen-bij-boekwinkels
Translated from Dutch to English with Google translate