The Netherlands will go into a strict lockdown over the Christmas holidays to try to contain the highly-contagious Omicron COVID-19 variant, said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Saturday.

All non-essential shops and services, including restaurants, hairdressers, museums and gyms will close from Dec. 19 until Jan. 14, he said. Schools will be shuttered until at least Jan. 9.

Infections in the Netherlands dropped recently from record levels after the introduction of a nighttime lockdown late last month.

Cases of the variant surged after it was identified in the Netherlands three weeks ago and it is now expected to become the most dominant variant sometime between Christmas and New Year.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/8460977/europe-restrictions-covid-19-omicron/
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