Goodbye “smart lock”, the Netherlands closes bars, coffeeshops and restaurants and bans alcohol

As a country that had opted for “smart” confinement, the one that claimed to want to treat citizens “like adults” and had tried to avoid too strict a quarantine during the first peak of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring, the Netherlands is now in it is preparing to introduce much stricter restrictions than those of other European states.

The government of Mark Rutte, which faces a series of infections among the highest in the Union, has even decided to close bars, coffeeshops and restaurants, and ban the sale of alcohol after 8 pm in a last attempt to avoid a national closure. . The measures should initially last two weeks, hoping that the tightening will have the desired effect in the short term and that it is not necessary to renew it. At night, as RTL Nieuws and Nos have learned from sources covered by the secret, the government was still debating whether to close all the accommodations at the same time or further limit the opening hours, in the end they opted for the hard line. Meetings of more than 4 people, both inside and outside the house, will also be prohibited.

“It will hurt but it is the only solution, we must be more rigid,” said Rutte, who urged the population to wear masks in public buildings, such as museums and supermarkets. The use of the public transport network will be limited to those who carry out vital jobs and only for essential trips. The opening hours of night shops will be reduced. In current plans, schools, both elementary and high schools, will remain open. This also applies to gyms for the time being, but all amateur and contact sports for over 18s will be suspended. The motto for the whole of the Netherlands will be: limit your contacts and stay home.

Rumors about the new government measures had already sparked protests from restaurateurs and businessmen in the sector. According to the chairman of Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, the main trade association, Robèr Willemsen, “45 percent of companies” in the sector “are already technically bankrupt and that number will increase rapidly.”

The situation in the Netherlands at the moment seems to be among the worst in Europe, after a weekend in which the new daily positives have approached 7,000 cases. In the last 24 hours, the health authorities have confirmed a total of 6,854 new infections, 479 more than the previous day, cases that are mainly concentrated in Amsterdam, where 584 were registered, followed by Rotterdam (433) and The Hague. (286). Rotterdam’s mayor himself, Ahmed Aboutaleb, tested positive. In the last 14 days, the Netherlands has accumulated a total of 344.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, well above the average for the European Union, and only behind Belgium (364.1) and the Czech Republic (432, 7). .