Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday extended the blockade measures in the Netherlands for a minimum of one month, saying restrictions had to be tightened due to new variants of COVID-19.
Ongoing lock-in restrictions include a daily curfew at 9 p.m., and restrictions on occupancy levels in businesses and public spaces, along with closures for places such as covered entertainment venues, outlets, restaurants, bars. and cafes.
The extended blockade, which will continue until at least March 2, comes as concerns arise about the coronavirus variant first identified in England, which officials believe is more transmissible.
Although positive COVID-19 rates in the Netherlands fell 20 percent last week to 28,628 new infections, two-thirds of Dutch cases are attributed to new variants, the Associated Press reports.
“The number of new positive cases per day is decreasing and the pressure on hospitals is gradually decreasing. But new variants of the virus are gaining ground rapidly in the Netherlands. This is cause for concern because these new variants are more infectious and can cause new wave of infections, “the Dutch government said in a statement.
Rutte said this week that “all calculations point to a third wave that looks set to inevitably affect us, the main cause of which is the British variant of the coronavirus,” the AP reported.
After hearing new data and recommendations from the country’s public health institute, Rutte said continuing with the blockade measure “almost entirely until March 2 is inevitable.”
The Institute of Public Health considered the drop in new cases to be the result of strict measures and warned not to relax policies amid the new variants.
While the Netherlands is concerned about the new variant identified in the UK, the British are facing concerns about a South African variant. The AP reports that in some communities home-to-home testing is being conducted to try to stop it from spreading.
The Netherlands has been closed since mid-December and imposed the curfew more than a week ago. The country has recently seen some clashes between police and protesters against the blockade.