New curbs in The Netherlands, as the country faces rising infections

They will apply from 6 November

Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Hugo de Jonge held a press conference on 2 November. The reason was to announce additional measures, aimed to contain the rising spread of coronavirus infections and the growing number of hospitalisations in the country.

The measures add up to the existing limitations, such as the closing times for the catering industry and the cap of 75 percent of visitors for interior spaces without seating. The stricter rules will apply from 6 November and will be revised on 12 November again.

Stricter covid rules in The Netherlands starting from 6 November

To begin with, the obligation to wear a mask or other mouth covering expands further: face masks are again mandatory in all public locations indoors where no corona entry passes are used. This concerns supermarkets, shops, libraries, public transport, contact professions, etc.

Moreover, the coronapass will become valid in more places. From Saturday, it must be shown at catering establishments, such as restaurants and cafés, both indoors and outdoors; casinos, cultural venues, events without fixed seating, at sports competitions and training, gyms, among others.

To further protect the vulnerable population, from December the country will start giving booster vaccine shots for those over the age of 80, to adults who live in a nursing home and healthcare professionals. As of January 2022, the booster short will also include the 60-80 age group.

The number of coronavirus infections has risen sharply in recent weeks in The Netherlands and so has the number of hospitalisations. The number of patients in the intensive care units is also rising and, according to expert calculations, it could reach a peak of 500 this winter.