Peaking records in the UK, the Netherlands will enter a tight quarantine: the corona hits Europe

The Omicron strain is hitting Europe, and more than 25,000 cases have been reported in the UK, including 10,000 in the past day.

Experts fear: "This is the tip of the iceberg," and estimate that hundreds of thousands are infected with the variant daily.

In the Netherlands, all non-essential businesses, including restaurants and hairdressers, will be closed until January 14

Reuters

18/12/2021

Saturday, 18 December 2021, 21:19 Updated: 22:33

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In video: Riots broke out in the Netherlands in protest of corona restrictions (Photo: Reuters)

European countries are facing the spread of the omicron variant in the world, and are taking emergency measures.

In the Netherlands, Prime Minister Mark Ruta announced today (Saturday) a tightened closure that will take effect tomorrow morning.

In the UK, more than 10,000 verified omicrons were reported daily.

"The Netherlands is closing again. This is inevitable, following the fifth wave coming to us with the advent of the Omicron variant," Rota said at a news conference.

During the Christmas and New Year period until January 14, all shops and services that are defined as non-essential, including restaurants, hairdressers, museums and gyms, will be closed.

All schools will be closed until January 9 at least.

Residents were also advised not to host more than two visitors at a time, and outdoor gatherings were limited to only two people.

The Prime Minister explained that if these measures were not taken now, "the situation would be unmanageable in the hospitals", which have already begun to make room for Corona patients, at the expense of the functioning of the regular departments.

At the end of last month, a nocturnal closure was announced in the Netherlands, which showed a decrease in the number of verified, but the omicron strain that appeared about three weeks ago in the country led to a renewed rise in morbidity.

While 85% of the adult population in the Netherlands was vaccinated, only about 9% of them received the booster dose, which is a particularly low figure compared to other European countries.

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The Netherlands detected contagion in the omicron strain - days before it was discovered

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Queue for vaccines in the UK (Photo: Reuters, Phil Noble)

One of the countries that has felt the spread of the omicron strain the most is the United Kingdom, where in the last day alone more than ten thousand have been diagnosed with the new strain, which has already infected more than 25,000 people in the country. The country estimates that between 65 and 85 people hospitalized carry the omicron, and that at least 8 patients in it have died. Health experts advising the government warn that this is "just the tip of the iceberg", and that it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people are infected with the variant daily.

The experts recommended imposing restrictions, noting that although the severity of the disease that the new strain brings with it is not yet known, "there are expected to be more than 3,000 hospitalizations a day in England alone." Earlier this year, before the vaccination campaign gained momentum in the UK, the number of daily hospitalizations in the UK as a whole stood at 4,000. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has sought government assistance following a 30% increase in hospitalization cases in the city. "The situation is serious," he said.

Tightened closure of almost a month.

Corona in Amsterdam (Photo: AP, Peter Dejong)

No restrictions have been placed so far.

Corona in London (Photo: Reuters, Phil Noble)

In Italy, one of the countries hardest hit in the first months of the global epidemic, 123 corona patients were reported dead today compared to 120 on Friday.

The daily number of new verified per day dropped slightly to 28,064 from 28,632.

Italy recorded 135,544 deaths from Corona since the onset of the plague.

It is the highest number in Europe after the UK and ninth in the world.

Currently, 7,576 are hospitalized in the country's hospitals.

Earlier today, the Italian National Institutes of Health announced that the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly in the country, with new cases being identified in the north and south of the country.

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