“I am here tonight in a dark mood. To sum it up in one sentence, the Netherlands will return to containment as of tomorrow,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said this Saturday evening, during a televised press conference. The Netherlands will be put into “containment” for the period of the Christmas holidays, in an effort to stem the fifth wave of Covid-19 and the strong progression of the omicron variant.
“It is inevitable with the fifth wave and with the omicron spreading faster than we feared. We must intervene now as a precaution,” Follow the prime minister.
The Netherlands announced earlier this week the early closure of primary schools before the Christmas holidays due to Omicron. Health restrictions that went into effect on November 28, including closing non-essential shops, bars and restaurants daily between 5 pm and 5 am, have been extended until January 14. Citizens can receive only four guests in the house.
‘Maximum Acceleration’ of Booster Vaccine Campaign
These measures have reduced pollution from recent record levels. Cases fell by 21 percent in the week from December 7 to 14, to 116,477, the RIVM public health institute said earlier this week. The country also recorded a ‘slight drop’ Covid-19 patients have been admitted to hospitals, but the Royal Institute of Animal Health (RIVM) has found an omicron . variant ’cause for concern’.
As of December 14, the omicron variant has been detected in 105 people in the Netherlands according to RIVM.
This week, the Dutch Minister of Health announced a “maximum acceleration” of the booster vaccination campaign for all adults who want it by the second half of January, in order to slow down “Omicron projected wave”. Health restrictions imposed by the Dutch government are becoming increasingly unpopular, with riots erupting in cities such as Rotterdam and The Hague for several nights in November.