The Netherlands imposed a five-week national lockdown this week, closing schools, nonessential businesses, museums, and gyms until mid-January as cases of the coronavirus continue to rise.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced the strict measures on Monday during a televised address, saying, “We have to bite through this very sour apple before things get better,” according to the Associated Press.
During his announcement, protesters were reportedly heard outside his office.
“The reality is that this is not an innocent flu as some people, like the demonstrators outside, think,” Rutte said, “but a virus that can hit everybody hard.”
Starting Tuesday, nonessential businesses, including museums, gyms, and theaters, will be closed until Jan. 19. Schools and universities will switch to remote learning on Wednesday. Child care centers will remain open for the children of essential workers.
“We realize as a Cabinet how intense and drastic the measures we are taking today are. Especially so close to Christmas,” Rutte said.
The new restrictions will also affect group gatherings, limiting guests to a maximum of two people. The rule is expanded to three people on Dec. 24-26 for the holiday season.
“The less contacts we have, the better. We have to do everything to get to a better place. And yes, it will get better,” Rutte said.
On Sunday, the Netherlands’s seven-day rolling average of daily new cases rose to 47.47% new cases from 29.22% two weeks prior, the Associated Press reported. As of Tuesday, the country had 638,801 cases and over 10,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The restrictions came shortly after Germany announced the implementation of one of its strictest lockdowns since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Its restrictions are set to start Wednesday and will last until Jan. 10.
