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Post by pieter on Dec 18, 2021 15:38:01 GMT -7
In early December the first tougher Corona measures came. These restrictions have become more strict since the Saturday Evening Press conference.#Covid19 #Netherlands #lockdownNetherlands in tougher lockdown amid virus surge387 views7 Dec 2021AP Archive4.19M subscribers (2 Dec 2021) The Netherlands has moved into a tougher lockdown that was announced amid spiking infections, even before the country recorded its first confirmed cases of the new, more highly transmissible omicron virus variant. Bars, restaurants, nonessential stores, cinemas and theaters were among the public places forced to shut from 5 p.m. until 5 a.m. under the new lockdown that began Sunday. The Dutch public health authority confirmed that 13 people who arrived in the Netherlands on flights from South African on November 26 have so far tested positive for the new omicron coronavirus variant. The 61 people who tested positive for the virus on November 26 after arriving on the last two flights to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport before a flight ban was put in place were immediately put into isolation while sequencing was carried out to establish if they had the new variant. The U.S. recorded its first confirmed case of the omicron variant Wednesday — in a vaccinated traveler who returned to California after a trip to South Africa — as scientists around the world race to establish whether the new, mutant version of the coronavirus is more dangerous than previous ones. At least 23 other countries have reported omicron infections since South African authorities first identified the variant a week ago — an announcement that led the U.S. and many other countries to almost immediately bar airline travelers arriving from southern Africa. The COVID travel restrictions have separated families and friends access the globe over the last two years. The flight ban due to the omicron variant may force Dutch South Africans to change their Christmas plans, says IT engineer Andre Koning who was born and bred in Pretoria, but moved to the Netherlands in 1988. The 53-year-old secured a special place in the Dutch- South African community with a hobby that he turned into a business. He makes the boerewors, traditional South African sausages. "Governments are saying, no, you cannot fly to South Africa or no, you cannot come to the Netherlands, for the people who have who live here, and want a family to come over, now it's a big question mark. Will they be allowed to come over? We don't know, " Koning said on Wednesday. Like many other South Africans, Koning is trying to stay in touch with his family and friends. "I still have contact with my brother with friends, but it's all via face time or we use WhatsApp video, call with my brother very often and I talk to him," he said. "I look at Europe and I look at the rest of the world and think, OK, I can go to South Africa for Christmas. Sit next to the pool and have a braai ( barbecue) enjoy the boerewors or biltong or whatever. And then if I can't go, then I have to think of, OK, how can we do that (Christmas) differently?"
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Post by pieter on Dec 18, 2021 15:56:33 GMT -7
Dutch cabinet mainly buys time with lockdown in the fight against omikronFrom left to right the Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport Hugo de Jonge, Prime minister Mark Rutte and virologist and infectiologist Jaap van Dissel during the national press conference Saturday evening (19:00 hours)The Netherlands has announced a strict lockdown over Christmas amid concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant.Non-essential shops, bars, gyms hairdressers and other public venues will be closed until at least mid-January. Two guests per household will be allowed - four over the holidays.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the measures were "unavoidable".
Countries across Europe have been tightening restrictions as the heavily mutated variant spreads.
The new rules in the Netherlands - the strictest to have been announced over Omicron so far - come into force on Sunday.
"I stand here tonight in a sombre mood. And a lot of people watching will feel that way too," Mr Rutte told a news conference on Saturday. "To sum it up in one sentence, the Netherlands will go back into lockdown from tomorrow."From left to right the Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport Hugo de Jonge, Prime minister Mark Rutte and virologist and infectiologist Jaap van Dissel during the national press conference Saturday evening (19:00 hours)www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59713503
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Post by pieter on Dec 18, 2021 16:17:05 GMT -7
The Netherlands will impose strict lockdown measures to curb Omicron spread, prime minister saysFrom CNN’s George Engels and Martin GoillandeauDutch outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte gives a press conference in The Hague, Netherlands, on December 18. (Robin Utrecht/ANP/AFP/Getty Images)The Netherlands will impose a strict new lockdown starting Sunday at 5 a.m. local time to curb the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced in a televised news conference Saturday, according to CNN affiliate RTL News.
Indoor gatherings will be limited to a maximum of two guests until Jan. 14, except on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, when that will be extended to four guests, according to RTL News.
All schools and extracurricular activities will also close until at least Jan. 9, RTL reported. On Jan. 3, the cabinet will decide whether education can reopen after Jan. 10.
Most indoor sports facilities will be closed except for swimming lessons, while outdoor facilities will be open for all ages. Most events will not be permitted, except for funerals, weekly markets selling groceries, and professional sports matches and competitions without spectators.
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Post by pieter on Dec 18, 2021 21:05:10 GMT -7
eenvandaag.assets.avrotros.nl/_processed_/1/f/csm_cdb842bea95188c886a2_765f7b3402.jpgHoreca (Café-restaurant) entrepreneur in Leeuwarden (Friesland Northern part of the Netherlands) in tears now that there will be another lockdown: 'It will stop once'. She knows her Horeca business will not survive another lockdown, which will probably be extended in januari. Her husband left the café early, and went home on saturday. Emotionally he couldn’t take it any longer. Many horeca & catering enterprises, shops and other enterprises that depend on public and demand and supply go down during lock downs.
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Post by Jaga on Dec 19, 2021 0:26:07 GMT -7
Pieter, I am sorry for what is happening in Netherlands. Even main american mass media were reporting a strict lockdown there. On the other hand I have heard today that one of my friends passed away just yesterday - her niece informed me. She was not vaccinated and she was less than 63.
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