Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Saturday that failure to take precautions now would result in „an unmanageable situation in hospitals.“
As the Omicron variant continues to spread, the Netherlands is taking dramatic action ahead of the holidays. On Saturday, the Dutch government announced that the European country would go into a strict lockdown in response to the Omicron threat, only a week before Christmas. Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned that failure to take precautions now would result in „an unmanageable situation in hospitals.“ The new rules, reported by the BBC to be the strictest yet imposed in response to the variant, will go into effect on Sunday and last until at least January 14. „I stand here tonight in a somber mood,“ Rutte said at a press conference on Saturday. „And a lot of people watching will feel that way too.
