New lockdown for the Netherlands: Fearing the spread of Omikron, the country is closing most stores and imposing contact restrictions.
The Hague (Netherlands) – The Netherlands will go into lockdown from Sunday. The lockdown should apply over the Christmas holidays. “The extremely rapid spread of the Omikron variant makes it necessary to take these tough measures,” said Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Saturday evening in The Hague. “It’s inevitable. We have to intervene to prevent worse. ”Because of the Omikron variant, the government’s advisory body had urgently advised the stricter lockdown.
The reason for the now so urgently proclaimed lockdown is the Omikron variant of the corona virus. From this Sunday on, almost all shops, restaurants, cultural and sports facilities, schools and hairdressers have to close. The only exceptions are shops such as supermarkets and pharmacies, which are important for the supply.
Christmas lockdown in the Netherlands: contact restrictions until mid-January
At Christmas itself, people living in the Netherlands are allowed to receive four guests at home – on all other days only two people. These strict contact restrictions should initially apply until January 14th – that is, until 2022. There will be no curfew for the time being, said Rutte.
The Netherlands has already tightened measures: there is an evening lockdown in which most shops, restaurants and cultural and sports facilities close at 5 p.m.
Lockdown in the Netherlands: Rutte wants to gain time for booster vaccinations
According to the experts, the Omikron variant is spreading much faster than previously expected. In Amsterdam, the number of infections doubles every two to three days. It was said that this variant would be dominant in the capital even before Christmas.
At the moment, the number of new infections is even falling. But the hospitals are under great pressure, so experts fear that they will not be able to cope with a further influx of patients. In the past seven days, the number of new infections decreased by about 24 percent compared to the previous week. The seven-day incidence on Saturday was 617. With booster vaccinations, the Netherlands is behind schedule compared to other countries.
“Time has to be gained to protect as many people as possible from a Covid 19 disease with a booster vaccination,” said Rutte. (dpa / Kat)
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