The Netherlands advances the closure of stores and restaurants due to record infections by coronavirus

The government of Netherlands ordered today to advance the closure of non-essential stores at 6:00 p.m. and the hotel industry, supermarkets and pharmacies at 8:00 p.m. to stop the cases of covid-19, the day after registering the highest number of infections since the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020.

“Restrictions are unavoidable”, Acting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told a press conference, saying that “The virus is everywhere, in all ages and in all sectors.”

The measures will take effect tomorrow, Saturday, will apply at least until December 4 and will imply that people who go to bars, terraces and restaurants remain seated at all times.

Hairdressers, sex workers and massage therapists, as well as non-essential shops, will have to stop providing services after 6:00 p.m.

The closure of the hotel business at 8:00 p.m. is a government concession to the sector, since the authorities originally planned to bring forward the closure of bars and restaurants at 7:00 p.m. These businesses may continue with the food delivery service beyond 20:00.

In universities and training centers, the maximum number of students per classroom will be 75 people, a measure that will not have to be applied if it is an exam.

Likewise, the covid pass will be maintained to access hospitality businesses, cinemas, theaters, swimming pools and gyms, as well as the use of masks in supermarkets, non-essential stores, public transport and official buildings.

Rutte called on companies to implement teleworking whenever possible and recommended that citizens limit visits to four people per home and restore the safety distance of one and a half meters in places where the covid pass is not requested. .

If someone tests positive, the quarantine will apply not only to the infected person, but also to the rest of the people who live with the affected person.

Sporting events will be played again behind closed doors for the next three weeks, including all football league matches and the decisive qualifying match for the Qatar 2022 World Cup between the Netherlands and Norway, next Tuesday in Rotterdam.

Rutte ruled out other tougher measures requested by the outbreak management team, a group of experts that advises the government, such as closing cinemas and theaters and canceling mass events.

However, the Executive is considering asking Parliament to extend the covid pass, currently necessary to enter the interior of bars, restaurants, swimming pools and gyms.

To obtain this pass in the Netherlands, at least one of these three requirements must be met: have the complete vaccination schedule, have recently passed the disease or show a negative test, a system known as 3G in countries such as Germany or Austria.

The Government’s intention is to move from 3G to 2G, eliminating the option of presenting a negative test, thus promoting vaccination, although Rutte said that it is studying making exceptions “with certain sectors.”

The Executive will begin next week to apply booster doses to those over 80 years of age, health personnel and nursing home workers.

The Netherlands today registered 16,287 infections in the last 24 hours, almost the same as last Thursday, when the highest number since the start of the pandemic was reached with 16,364 cases. The incidence is 93.2 infections per 100,000 inhabitants.

“The pressure on the healthcare system is again extremely high,” Rutte said, as “hip, knee and heart surgeries are being postponed again, sometimes for the second time.”

The percentage of the population older than 12 years without the complete regimen represents 17.6% of the population, but the unvaccinated occupied 56% of the beds in hospitals destined for patients with covid-19 last October.

This percentage rose to 70% in the case of Intensive Care Units (ICU), according to figures released by the Dutch Ministry of Health.