Holland is blocked for five weeks

AFaced with a dramatic increase in the number of infections, the Netherlands has imposed the strictest blockade to date for its country. The strict measures will go into effect at midnight and should last until January 19, Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced in a televised speech Monday night. “The Netherlands will be isolated for five weeks.” For the first time since the outbreak of the corona pandemic, stores, except for daily necessities, must close.

The country is also reacting to far-reaching restrictions in neighboring Germany. Many municipalities feared that after the strict measures in their country, the Germans could go Christmas shopping on the other side of the border from Wednesday.

As of Monday night, cinemas, theaters and museums, as well as hair salons, gyms and swimming pools have to close. Citizens can only meet two other people per day. There can be three guests at Christmas. Schools and nurseries will also be closed starting Wednesday. We strongly recommend not traveling abroad until mid-March.

“We have no choice”

Rutte emphasized that it was an extremely harsh message “just before Christmas.” “But we have no other option,” emphasized the right-wing liberal prime minister. The situation is very serious, hospitals can hardly bear the pressure. “But we will do it,” he said.

The number of new infections has risen sharply since mid-November. More recently, around 8,500 cases were reported in 24 hours. That was less than the day before with around 10,000 reports. But the figures for Monday are in most cases significantly lower than on other days. In Germany, with about five times more inhabitants, around 16,000 new infections were recorded on Monday.

It was only the prime minister’s second television speech. Chants and whistles could be heard in the background from a few dozen protesters outside the prime minister’s headquarters. A partial lockdown has been in effect in the Netherlands since mid-October. Private contacts were restricted and restaurants were closed. However, this did not lead to a permanent decrease in infections.