ROTTERDAM, Netherlands – Dutch dance teacher Willem Engel has become the voice of the COVID denialism in the Netherlands and is the face of several legal challenges against government-mandated restrictions.

In an interview with EFE in his dance studio in Rotterdam, Engel celebrates his most recent victory against the current interim government – a successful court case to scrap the curfew in the country.

The government appealed the ruling and managed to have the curfew upheld until Friday, when the justice system must offer a final decision on the lawfulness of the emergency measure, which bucked trends for an executive that prides itself on liberalism.

“There is no pandemic right now, it’s in that sense a storm in a cup of water,” he said. “But of course, people get sick, so what can you do instead of poking them in their nose (with a test) and saying ‘ok, you’re positive, but there is no medication.’ That doesn’t help people.”