The Netherlands goes into strict lockdown from Sunday as Omicron causes Covid-19 surge

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The Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, has announced that the Netherlands will go into a strict lockdown from Sunday morning until at least January 14 to curb the spread of the dreaded Covid-19 virus caused by the Omicron coronavirus variant.

The Netherlands is closing its doors again. “This is inevitable because of the fifth wave that is coming upon us with the alternative Omicron,” he said at a press conference.

All shops, bars, restaurants and other non-essential public places in the country will be closed from Sunday.

Rutte said the new order builds on the existing partial closure already in place which requires bars, restaurants and other public gathering places such as cinemas and theaters to close at 5 p.m.

The country has already witnessed widespread protests and unrest due to the current restrictions.

Other measures include a recommendation that families receive no more than visitors and that gatherings outside are also limited to a maximum of two people.

Rutte said failure to act now would likely lead to an “uncontrollable situation in hospitals,” which have already scaled back regular care to make room for Covid-19 patients.

Acknowledging the poor timing of another shutdown, he said: “I can hear the whole of Holland sigh.

“All this, exactly a week before Christmas. Another Christmas completely different from what we want.

“Very bad news again for all businesses and cultural institutions that rely on holidays.” The head of the Netherlands’ Institute of Public Health, Jaap van Diesel, described the lockdown as a precautionary step that would “buy time” for more people to get booster vaccines and the country’s health care system to prepare for a possible new surge in infections.

While infections in the country have fallen from record levels after the introduction of the overnight lockdown last month, cases have surged in the face of the new variant of Omicron.

On Saturday, the National Institute of Public Health (RIVM) reported 14,616 new infections within 24 hours.

The Netherlands has reported more than 2.9 million cases and 20,420 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Additional reporting by agencies

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