(ANSA) - ROME, DECEMBER 18 - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has announced the reintroduction of the national lockdown starting tomorrow for the Christmas holidays, to cope with the growth of the pandemic.
The lockdown is "inevitable due to the fifth wave that is approaching due to Omicron", he stressed, explaining that the Covid variant is "spreading faster than we feared".
And intervention is necessary "to prevent the worst".
I'm here tonight in a dark mood.
To sum it up in one sentence, the Netherlands will be back in lockdown from tomorrow, "Ruttein told a televised press conference. Non-essential shops, bars, restaurants and other public places will close, at least until January 14, as well as schools, explained the Prime Minister. Next to Rutte was the chief epidemiologist Van Dissel, according to whom Omicron will become dominant in the Netherlands between Christmas and New Year. morning. (ANSA).