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The Netherlands will enter a “partial lockdown” to curb one of the biggest coronavirus waves in Europe, and all bars, cafes and restaurants will close, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.
After months of refusing to make the wearing of masks mandatory, Mr. Rutte finally ordered that people over the age of 13 must also wear non-medical face coverings in all interior spaces.
The sale of alcohol will also be banned after 8 p.m. in an attempt to reduce social contacts that have led to the increase in Covid-19 cases, Rutte said of the measures that will go into effect tomorrow.
“We are going into a partial lockdown,” Rutte told a televised press conference.
“It hurts, but it’s the only way. We have to be more strict.”
Dutch health authorities reported a daily record of 7,393 new coronavirus infections today, with 43,903 new cases during the past week and 150 deaths.
The Netherlands currently has the third highest rate of new infections per 100,000 people in Europe over the past 14 days, behind only the Czech Republic and Belgium, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
For many months, the Rutte government followed a “smart lockdown” policy that was much more relaxed than that of its European neighbors, but it has struggled to control the second wave of the disease.
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