The Netherlands Heads Into Strict Holiday Lockdown

With COVID-19 cases surging, The Netherlands this weekend headed into another lockdown that will last at least through the New Year.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Saturday announced that all non-essential shops, restaurants, hairdressers, museums, and gyms would close through at least Jan. 14. The country is also asking residents to scale down holiday gatherings.

Rutte, in a news conference this weekend, called the move “unavoidable because of the fifth wave that is coming at us with the Omicron variant.”

The country is still dealing with its highest wave of cases, which reached a peak at more than 23,000 new cases on Nov. 24, according to Worldometer. Since then, daily cases have dropped to just under 14,000 this past Sunday.

However, Rutte said that the move this weekend is to prevent “an unmanageable situation for hospitals,” which have already been dealing with the recent surge and have scaled back some regular service in order to treat COVID-19 patients.

The Netherlands, which has been on the CDC’s Level 4: Do Not Travel list since Dec. 14, will also change its travel rules starting on Dec. 22, 2021.

The new requirements will force all travelers from outside the E.U./Schengen area to carry a negative COVID-19 test with them regardless of vaccination status. The test must be a PCR/NAAT test taken within 48-hours prior to departure or an antigen test taken within 24 hours of departure.

Travelers from “very high-risk areas” will have to quarantine for 10-days upon arrival, a period that can be shorted to 5 days with a negative test during quarantine.