THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The Netherlands, under strict lockdown for two weeks and at least until January 14 due to a COVID-19 outbreak, will reopen primary and secondary schools on Monday, January 10, announced on Monday. Dutch government.
The government stressed that the number of hospital admissions had fallen sharply since the lockdown was instituted on December 19, which was accompanied by the closure of schools a week in advance of the schedule planned for them. School vacation.
“This is good news for the pupils and it is important for their development and for their mental well-being that they can go to school”, said the Dutch Minister of Education, Arie Slob, during of a press conference.
Professional establishments and universities will not be affected by this reopening and will have to continue distance education at least until Monday, January 17.
Dutch health authorities announced last week that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 has become the majority in the country.
If the number of new contaminations recorded each day has declined from the record levels observed in November, it remains very high with more than 14,000 new cases according to the latest available daily report.
“Unfortunately, despite our strict measures, we are seeing an increase in infections and this means that we are worried about what could happen in the weeks to come”, underlined the Minister of Health, Hugo de Jonge.
Since December 19, the Netherlands has experienced strict containment, with a closure of non-essential shops, restaurants, hairdressers, sports halls, museums and theaters. Outdoor gatherings are also limited to two people. All of these measures, in force until at least January 14, will be reassessed to determine whether or not they are still necessary on that date.
More than 85% of the Dutch are vaccinated against COVID-19, but the booster campaign has struggled to get started and last Wednesday only 24% of adults had received a booster dose.
(Report Stephanie van den Berg, French version Myriam Rivet, edited by)