The Netherlands introduces a partial lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Hugo de Jonge announced at a press conference held Tuesday evening. The stricter rules will be in force as of today, 14 October, at 10 p.m. and will apply for at least 2 weeks.
Reducing the risk of transmission
The stricter rules in the Netherlands concern group behaviour, everyday life and sports. They were decided so as to restrict the situations in which the highest transmission of the virus is observed, such as travel and situations involving physical contact.
The new rules for groups prescribe that one should not receive more than 3 guests per day at home and should meet no more than 3 people apart from their household members (children up to 12 years old are excluded). At any indoor location there could be no more than 30 people in total, children included.
Wearing a mask is mandatory indoors at public locations, with students allowed to remove them only during classes. Restaurants, cafés and catering establishments are required to close to visitors and serve only takeaway (this rule does not apply to hotels, airport establishments past security check or funerals).
All shops apart from supermarkets should close at 8 p.m. and after this hour of the evening, the sale of alcohol and soft drugs is banned until 7 a.m. in the morning. Citizens are allowed to consume these only at home or in private locations. Most events will be prohibited, apart from food markets, trade fairs and conferences, cinemas and theatres, matches and demonstrations.
When it comes to sports, the new rules apply to those older than 18 years of age. For them, exercising is limited to a group of 4 people, who should keep a distance of 1.5 metres from each other. Competitions are also not allowed. Finally, it is highly recommended to work from home and avoid travel.
The new rules will be valid until 27 October at least. Until this date, the cabinet will be assessing whether it is needed to extend or adjust them.
Source: TheMayor.EU
