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THE HAGUE: The Netherlands will go right into a strict lockdown over the Christmas and New Yr interval to attempt to include the highly- contagious Omicron coronavirus variant, Prime Minister Mark Rutte mentioned on Saturday.
All non-essential retailers and providers, together with eating places, hairdressers, museums and gymnasiums shall be closed from Sunday till January 14. All faculties shall be shut till at the very least January 9.
“The Netherlands is once more shutting down. That’s unavoidable due to the fifth wave that’s coming at us with the Omicron variant,” Rutte advised a televised information convention.
Different measures embody a suggestion that households obtain not more than two guests and that gatherings outdoors are additionally restricted to a most of two folks.
A failure to behave now would doubtless result in “an unmanageable scenario in hospitals”, which have already scaled again common care to create space for COVID-19 sufferers, Rutte mentioned.
LIVE: de #persconferentie van premier Mark Rutte, minister @hugodejonge en OMT-voorzitter Jaap van Dissel over de laatste stand van zaken rond de aanpak van het coronavirus ⬇ https://t.co/cGK738RBkG
— Mark Rutte (@MinPres) December 18, 2021
Infections within the Netherlands have dropped from document ranges in current weeks after the introduction of a nighttime lockdown late final month. The Omicron variant arrived because the nation was already battling a wave in coronavirus infections.
Instances of the variant have surged because it was first discovered within the Netherlands three weeks in the past, whereas hospitals are fighting the massive numbers of COVID-19 sufferers of their wards, close to the very best ranges this 12 months.
Omicron is predicted to develop into probably the most dominant variant of the virus within the Netherlands between Christmas and New Yr`s Eve, main Dutch infectious illness skilled Jaap van Dissel mentioned.
Whereas greater than 85% of the Dutch grownup inhabitants is vaccinated, fewer than 9% of adults have had a booster shot, one of many lowest charges in Europe.
On Saturday the Nationwide Institute for Public Well being (RIVM) reported a complete of over 2.9 million COVID-19 circumstances for the reason that begin of the pandemic, with 20,420 reported deaths. There have been 14,616 new infections reported in 24 hours.
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