It will be western Europe’s first partial lockdown since the summer.
The Netherlands is set to impose a partial lockdown from this weekend in a bid to stop a surge in Covid-19 cases.
The news was reported by Dutch broadcaster NOS on Friday and means that bars, restaurants and non-essential stores will be ordered to close at 7pm for a period of at least three weeks.
In addition, the public will be urged to work from home as much as possible and there will be no fans allowed at sporting events for the coming weeks.
It’s expected that after a partial lockdown of around two weeks, entrance to public places will be limited to people who have been fully vaccinated or have recently recovered from a coronavirus infection.
Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s cabinet are expected to make a final decision later today with the new measures set to be announced during a televised press conference at 6pm.
Pressure on hospitals in The Netherlands has increased in recent weeks due to a surge in Covid-19 cases in the country.
It’s not the only country in the EU considering reintroducing some restrictions.
Austria has said it is days away from placing millions of unvaccinated people in lockdown.
In Germany, a series of measures to curb daily infections are being considered. These would restrict the right to go to a restaurant or to the movies to those who have been vaccinated against, or recovered from, Covid-19.
However, the measures stopped short of imposing further restrictions on the unvaccinated.
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