The Hague, The Netherlands (AP) —Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced a three-week partial blockade on Friday amid a surge in the COVID-19 case in the Netherlands.
The blockade, which begins Saturday night, began first in Western Europe since a wave of new infections began to surge in parts of the continent.
Under the blockade, bars, restaurants and supermarkets need to close at 8 pm (Greenwich Mean Time 1900), professional sports games are played in empty stadiums and people work from home as much as possible. You will be prompted.Stores selling non-essential items must close at 6 pm
“Tonight we have a very unpleasant message with a very unpleasant and widespread decision,” Rutte said.
As Rutte said, police in The Hague said they had arrested many people protesting in nearby streets to launch fireworks.
The Netherlands is not the only country taking steps to curb the surge in coronavirus infections.
Last Friday, Austrian Prime Minister Alexander Schallenberg said his country would blockade unvaccinated people in two devastated areas next week and be ready to take similar steps nationwide. Said that.
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Beginning Monday, unvaccinated people in Upper Austria and Salzburg will be allowed to leave home only for specific reasons, such as purchasing groceries or visiting a doctor.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Germany is urging people to cancel or avoid large-scale events and reduce contact as the country’s coronavirus infection rate reaches a series of new highs.
Dr. Michael Ryan, Head of Emergency for the World Health Organization, spoke at a press conference on Friday about the deteriorating situation in Europe, saying: It is difficult to avoid restrictive measures, at least for a short period of time, to reduce the strength of transmission. “
Rutte also said that social distance is returning. Masks are already widely required, including in stores and public transport.
Health Minister Hu Ge de Jongge said the government also restricted access to some “high-risk” places and events to those who could prove that they were fully vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19. He said he was working on a law to do. Negative on test. Similar restrictions are already in place in parts of Austria and Germany.
Separately, the government announced on Friday that it would accelerate the launch of a campaign to administer booster shots of COVID-19 shots to seniors and healthcare professionals. The campaign was scheduled to start in December, but will start at the end of next week.
News of possible pre-announcement moves caused anger between bar owners and sports managers early Friday.
The Dutch Football Federation and the top two professional leagues have expressed “great disappointment” with the expected blockade and issued a statement claiming that football stadiums with strict COVID measures are not a major source of infection. bottom.
“This looks like policy poverty,” the organization said, adding that government officials “no longer know what to do.”
Rutte confirmed that the World Cup soccer qualifier between the Netherlands and Norway in Rotterdam will be held in a closed room on Tuesday.
Organizations representing bar and restaurant owners have also blamed the government.
“Hospitality companies have been resubmitted to the bill for failing government policy,” the group said in a statement.
On Thursday, the National Institute of Public Health recorded 16,364 new positive tests in 24 hours. This is the highest number ever in a pandemic that killed more than 18,600 people in the Netherlands.
Countries where nearly 85% of adults are fully vaccinated almost ended their blockade restrictions at the end of September.
Follow AP’s coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic..
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Dutch government orders a three-week partial blockade amid a surge in viruses | World
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