Covid-19: facing the Omicron variant, the Dutch confined from Sunday for the holidays

The Netherlands will be placed in "containment" from Sunday, for the Christmas holiday period, in an attempt to stop the fifth wave of Covid-19 and the strong progression of the Omicron variant, the Dutch Prime Minister announced on Saturday December 18. , Mark Rutte.

“I am here tonight in a gloomy mood. To sum it up in one sentence, the Netherlands will return to confinement from tomorrow,” Mark Rutte said during a televised press conference.

“It is inevitable with the fifth wave and with Omicron spreading even faster than we feared. We must intervene now as a precaution,” continued the Prime Minister.

All non-essential shops, restaurants, bars, cinemas, museums and theaters must therefore close their doors from Sunday until January 14, while schools must keep their doors closed until at least January 9, said Mark Rutte.

The number of guests that people are allowed to receive at home is reduced to two at the same time, except for Christmas, as well as the day before and the day after this day of December 25, and for the New Year period, when it will be four. .

The dominant Omicron variant before the end of the year

"Another Christmas is looming which is completely different from what we would like", acknowledged the head of government. But "Omicron forces us to limit the number of our contacts as quickly as possible and as much as possible, which is why the Netherlands will be confined", he insisted.

The head of the Dutch outbreak management team, Jaap van Dissel, meanwhile said during the same press conference that Omicron would overtake the Delta variant to become dominant in the Netherlands by the end of the year.

The Prime Minister's announcement comes just after an emergency government meeting and four days after new restrictions decided by the authorities, including a week-long Christmas holidays brought forward in primary schools.

Even before this “containment”, long queues had formed in front of the stores during the day on Saturday. Many Dutch people were doing their Christmas shopping, as reports had already started circulating about new restrictions.

Health restrictions imposed by the Dutch government are increasingly unpopular, with riots breaking out in cities including Rotterdam and The Hague for several nights in November.

Almost 86% of adults are vaccinated in the Netherlands.

With AFP