Dutch PM orders partial coronavirus lockdown, while Britain faces call for ‘circuit breaker’
- More than 700,000 new Covid-19 cases reported in Europe last week, a jump of 34 per cent from previous week
- Facing one of the highest per capita infection rates worldwide, the Netherlands bans public gatherings of more than four people and closes bars and restaurants
The Netherlands will return to a “partial lockdown” on Wednesday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, closing bars and restaurants as it battles to control the coronavirus in one of Europe’s major hotspots.
“Today we are announcing new and sturdy measures and in fact we are going to a partial lockdown,” Rutte said in a televised news conference. He said public gatherings of more than four people would be prohibited and alcohol sales in the evening would also be banned.
Schools were to remain open and public transport would keep running, in contrast to measures imposed during a partial lockdown earlier this year. The measures will last at least four weeks, with a review of their impact after two weeks. If they prove ineffective, tougher restrictions may follow, said Health Minister Hugo de Jonge.
Governments across Europe are ratcheting up restrictions to try to beat back a resurgence of the coronavirus that has sent new infections on the continent to their highest weekly level since the start of the pandemic.
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The World Health Organization said on Tuesday there were more than 700,000 new Covid-19 cases reported in Europe last week, a jump of 34 per cent from the previous week. Britain, France, Russia and Spain accounted for more than half of the new infections.
The measures unveiled in the Netherlands on Tuesday also include making the wearing of cloth masks mandatory for people 13 years and older in indoor spaces. A maximum of 30 people will be allowed to gather indoors and retail opening hours will be restricted.
The number of cases in this country of 17 million has surged in recent weeks to a daily record of nearly 7,400 on Tuesday. It now has one of the highest per capita infection rates worldwide.
Rutte’s government had been loath to reimpose tougher restrictions that could hurt a fragile economic recovery, but he had come under pressure from health experts to take action to avoid overloading the health care system.
While many of its European neighbours imposed compulsory restrictions, the Dutch had largely stuck to voluntary guidelines, including on mask wearing. But Rutte said the government would pass urgent legislation if needed to make mask use mandatory, and he urged citizens again to avoid non-essential travel.
Meanwhile in Britain, opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer called on Tuesday for a two-to-three-week “circuit breaker” lockdown, piling pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is struggling to sell his own plan to tackle Covid-19.
Dropping what his party has described as its “constructive opposition” towards government attempts to flatten a growing number of new coronavirus cases, Starmer said “there’s no longer time to give this prime minister the benefit of the doubt”.
“The government’s plan simply isn’t working. Another course is needed. That’s why I’m calling for a two-to-three-week circuit break in England,” he told a news conference.
Starmer said his proposal, which he urged the government to adopt, would not mean schools closing. Instead the temporary lockdown could be timed to take place at the same time as an approaching school holiday.
Describing his plan as meaning “significant sacrifices across the country”, he proposed allowing only essential work and travel, restricting household mixing and the closure of all pubs, bars and restaurants, but with compensation.
Johnson wants to avoid a full national lockdown, saying he is trying to balance public health and the economy, but Starmer said the economy would suffer more in the long-run without a “circuit breaker” to stem the spread of the virus.
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With the number of Covid-19 cases and associated deaths rising across Britain, particularly in the north of England, Johnson has introduced a tiered system to try to better coordinate a response which, for many, had become difficult to understand.
But his adoption of a 10pm curfew for bars and restaurants has raised tempers in his Conservative Party, with dozens of lawmakers rebelling during a parliamentary vote which approved the measures on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in Europe, Italy and France are restricting parties and putting limits on restaurants and bars. The Czech Republic is closing all schools until November 2, while Latvia is ordering teenagers to switch to distance learning for a week.
Those moves reflect a new approach to containing the virus among governments wary of hurting already fragile economies. Officials are eager to avoid the total lockdowns they imposed in the spring that resulted in heavy job losses. The WHO appeared to support the new approach, with spokesman Tarik Jasarevic saying lockdowns should be a “last resort”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a European Union advisory body Tuesday that she is watching the rising infection figures “with great concern”. “We must not squander now what we achieved through restrictions in recent months,” Merkel said in a video address.
“None of us found it easy to impose those restrictions,” she added. “Many people lost their lives, and so it is all the more important that we ensure now that a further lockdown won’t be necessary, that our health system isn’t overstrained again.”
Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte ordered bars and restaurants to close at midnight and banned pickup sports games among friends and parties in enclosed spaces. Private gatherings at homes with more than six people who don’t live together are also discouraged.
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In France, which has seen a rapid increase in infections, Paris, Marseille and seven other large cities have been placed under maximum alert, resulting in the closing of bars, gyms and swimming pools. Public parties are banned, and restaurants have to maintain at least one metre (three feet) between tables, with groups of diners limited to six people.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki urged the country’s citizens to observe social distancing and wear masks as he himself went into quarantine following contact with someone who later tested positive for Covid-19. He said in a video message that his government was working as usual and that he had no symptoms.
In an effort to keep people and goods moving throughout the European Union, member countries approved a colour-coded system on Tuesday.
The countries agreed to not restrict people travelling between green areas – where infection numbers are low – but EU governments will continue to set their own restrictions, such as quarantines or mandatory testing upon arrival, for people coming from orange or red zones.
Under the new criteria, most EU regions would be either red or orange.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
