The Government of the Netherlands has announced this Friday the night closure of the country, valid for three weeks that will force bars and shops to close at 8:00 p.m. (local time), and an expansion of the places where it will be necessary to present a health pass to gain access.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced at a press conference the “unpleasant decisions” that the Administration has had to take to deal with the spike in infections, so the measures are “inevitable”, since “the virus is everywhere”. This has caused, for its part, “that the pressure on health care is again extremely high.”
“Operations sometimes have to be postponed, sometimes for the second or third time“, has lamented the ‘premier’. For his part, the Minister of Health, Hugo De Jonge, has indicated that although” vaccination is a free choice “, it is” the sensible and supportive choice “, in an appeal to the population to be inoculated.
In this context, the authorities have tightened restrictions, including meetings at home “for a while”, The 1.5 meter distance rule has been reinstated and the health pass has been extended to stores and non-essential services, with the possibility that companies may also request it at workplaces.
In addition, the so-called 2G measure has been introduced, already used in Germany, in which only people vaccinated or who have overcome the disease will be able to attend festivals and events. Rutte has also indicated that not only people infected with the coronavirus should quarantine, but also people who live with them.
All the measures, with which the Government hopes to give “a severe blow to COVID-19”, will come into force this Saturday, November 13 at 6:00 p.m., and will apply, in principle, until next Saturday, December 4. The aim of the Dutch authorities is to reduce the number of infections by at least 20%.
Although the Netherlands has one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe, and along with the vast majority of European countries, infections have been increasing in recent weeks, even registering the record of infections in a single day this Thursday, with 16,364 cases.
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
