From this Sunday on, almost all shops, restaurants, cultural and sports facilities, schools and hairdressers will have to close. The only exceptions are shops such as supermarkets and pharmacies, which are important for the supply.
The extremely rapid spread of the Omikron variant is forcing these tough measures, said Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Saturday evening in The Hague. “It’s inevitable. We have to step in to prevent worse.”
As a rule, each household is now only allowed to receive two guests. Exceptionally, up to four visitors are only allowed over Christmas and at the turn of the year. The lockdown should initially apply until January 14th – that is, into the new year. There will be no curfew for the time being, promised Rutte. So far, an “evening lockdown” has been in effect in the country with around 17.5 million inhabitants. Most shops, restaurants and cultural and sports facilities had to close at 5 p.m.
The government advisory body had urgently advised the stricter lockdown because of the Omikron variant. Time must be gained to protect as many people as possible from Covid 19 disease with a booster vaccination. The Netherlands is behind with booster vaccinations compared to other countries. The tightening had already become apparent. On Saturday, many people were out and about in the city centers to buy gifts practically at the last minute.
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 falling. However, 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. For comparison: In Germany, almost 322 infections per 100,000 inhabitants were recently registered in seven days.
Source: Nachrichten
