“I’m here tonight in a dark mood. To sum it up in one sentence, the Netherlands will return to containment from tomorrow ”, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said this Saturday evening during a televised press conference. The Netherlands will be placed in “containment” for the Christmas holiday period, in an attempt to stop the fifth wave of Covid-19 and the strong progression of the omicron variant.
“It’s inevitable with the fifth wave and with omicron spreading even faster than we had feared. We must intervene now as a precaution ”, continued the Prime Minister.
The Netherlands announced earlier this week the early closure of primary schools before the Christmas holidays because of omicron. Health restrictions that came into effect on November 28, including the closure of non-essential shops, bars and restaurants every day between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m., have been extended until January 14. Citizens can receive only two guests at home, except for Christmas and New Year.
“Maximum acceleration” of the vaccine booster campaign
These measures reduced contamination from recent record levels. Cases fell 21% in the week of Dec. 7-14 to 116,477, the RIVM public health institute said earlier this week. The country also recorded a “Slight decrease” hospital admissions of patients with Covid-19, but the RIVM has found the omicron variant “Cause for concern”.
Until December 14, the omicron variant had been detected in 105 people in the Netherlands according to the RIVM.
The Dutch Minister of Health announced this week a “Maximum acceleration” of the vaccine booster campaign for all adults who so wish by the second half of January, in order to slow down the “Expected wave omicron”. Health restrictions imposed by the Dutch government are increasingly unpopular, with riots erupting in cities like Rotterdam and The Hague for several nights in November.