Lockdown until 19 January: all non-essential establishments closed

Tonight, 14 December, Prime Minister Mark Rutte will be announcing new drastic measures to regain control of the COVID-19 situation. From midnight, tonight, not only museums and theatres will be closing once again, but all establishments except supermarkets and pharmacies.

The strict new measures are due to the unrelenting rise in contamination numbers, which are rising to 10,000 a day. There is an urgent need to relieve the mounting pressure on the health services.

The measures of the new strict lockdown will remain in place until 19 January. In the run-up to tonight’s announcement, broadcaster NOS calls it remarkable that this press conference is to be held on a Monday, whereas  usually, they are held on Tuesdays.