Netherlands announces lockdown before Christmas due to omicron wave

Picture Courtesy: The San Diego Union-Tribune

The Netherlands had announced a Christmas lockdown as the omicron variant has spread throughout the country. The Non-essential shops, schools, bars, restaurants, and other public venues will be closed until at least mid-January.

Prime Minister of Netherlands, Mark Rutte, said that the lockdown measures are “unavoidable" to stop the spread of the new COVID variant.

Netherland’s lockdown is one of the strictest rules announced due to the new variant. Countries across Europe are trying to adopt stringent measures to stop the spread of Omicron.

The new rules in Netherland come into effect starting Sunday after a meeting between the government and health experts.

The Prime Minister said in a news conference, "I stand here tonight in a somber mood. And a lot of people watching will feel that way too. To sum it up in one sentence, the Netherlands will go back into lockdown from tomorrow.”

The new rules urge the people to stay at home as much as possible, avoid non-essential travel and strict limits will be placed on the number of people who can meet. The Dutch National Institute for Public Health has reported more than 2.9m coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, and over 20,000 deaths.