Amsterdam: Shopping streets in the Netherlands are closed and the People’s Christmas Plan is a mess when the country starts locking on Sunday which aims to limit the Covid-19 surge expected by the resurrection of the Omicron variant.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced a sudden shut-down on Saturday night, ordered all closures except the most important shops, as well as restaurants, hairdressers, fitness centers, museums and other public areas from Sunday to 14 January.
News came as a surprise for many Dutch people when they headed to the Christmas and New Year period.
Many people rushed out on Saturday to provide gifts and food and to get a last minute haircut.
Hospitality workers demand compensation for lost income in the holiday season, while the owner of the gym emphasizes the importance of sports during the health crisis.
“Closing all the bars and restaurants in a very important month is very painful and dramatic.
We need compensation and outgoing strategies”, the Dutch Association said for hospitality services.
All schools will close a week early for Christmas holidays on Monday and will remain closed until at least January 9, while the household is advised to receive no more than two visitors and meetings outside are also limited to a maximum of two.
Coronavirus infection in the Netherlands has dropped from the record level in recent weeks after the night locking at the place last month.
But cases involving omicron variants have increased rapidly since the beginning of December and tensions are expected to be dominant before the end of the year.
This will cause a big problem for the hospital, which has canceled regular care for weeks when they tried to avoid running out of bed because of the high number of Covid-19 patients on their ward.
The government said on Saturday said it would accelerate the shooting of the booster vaccine after the beginning of the campaign, and now aim to give extra shots to everyone above the age of 60 before the end of the month.
While more than 85% of the population of Dutch adults were vaccinated, less than 9% of adults have so far have booster shots, one of the lowest rates in Europe.