Shoppers walk in the center of Rotterdam, Netherlands, on December 18, 2021. (Marco de Swart/ANP/AFP)
The Netherlands will go into a “lockdown” over the Christmas period to try to stop a surge of the Omicron coronavirus variant, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says.
All non-essential shops, restaurants, bars, cinemas, museums, and theaters must shut from Sunday until January 14, while schools must close until at least January 9, Rutte says.
The number of guests that people are allowed in their house is also being cut from four to two, except for Christmas Day on December 25.
“I stand here tonight in a somber mood,” Rutte tells a televised press conference.
“To sum it up in one sentence, the Netherlands will go back into lockdown from tomorrow.
“It is inevitable with the fifth wave and with Omicron spreading even faster than we had feared. We must now intervene as a precaution.”
The head of the Dutch outbreak management team, Jaap van Dissel, says the Omicron strain would soon overtake the Delta variant.
“Between Christmas and the turn of the year the Omicron variant will become dominant,” van Dissel tells the news conference.
“We know that the variant can outflank built-up defenses from previous infections or previous vaccinations, especially if that was some time ago.”
Dutch Jaap van Dissel, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Control of the RIVM (Dutch acronym for National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) delivers a speech next to Dutch outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte (center) and Dutch outgoing minister of Healthcare Hugo De Jonge (left) during a press conference about new coronavirus measures to stop the spread of the Omicron variant, in The Hague, on December 18, 2021. (Robin Utrecht/ANP/AFP)
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