Netherlands’ Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced this Saturday the country’s lockdown, starting this Sunday, as the New Year’s Eve approaches, in addition to the new Omicron variant’s rapid spread.
This decision came as the Christmas holiday is nearing, with the country aiming to curb the spread of the fifth wave of the Covid-19 as well as the surge of the Omicron variant, said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
All non-essential stores, restaurants, bars, cinemas, museums, and theaters must therefore close their doors from Sunday to January 14, while schools must be closed until at least January 9, added Mark Rutte.
The number of guests that the country’s population is allowed to receive in their homes is reduced to two, except for Christmas, as well as the day before and the day after December 25, in addition to the New Year’s Eve day, when the number of guests is set at four.
The average number of new cases reported each day in the country is 15,143, representing 67% of the peak, according to the latest Reuters’ Tracker on COVID on December 18.
The Netherlands is among the first countries to detect the first Omicron cases.
As of November 28, Health authorities said they had found at least 13 cases of the new Omicron variant among 61 quarantined passengers who tested positive after arriving from South Africa, according to AFP.
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