The Netherlands started a new strict lockdown shortly before Christmas because of the Omikron variant of the corona virus.
Since this morning five o'clock almost all shops, restaurants, cultural and sports facilities, schools and hairdressers have to close.
The only exceptions are shops such as supermarkets and pharmacies, which are important for the supply.
As a rule, each household is now only allowed to receive two guests.
Exceptionally, up to four visitors are only allowed over Christmas and at the turn of the year.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte justifies the new lockdown with the extremely rapid spread of the Omikron variant.
“It is inevitable,” said Rutte on Saturday evening in The Hague.
"We have to intervene to prevent worse." The lockdown should initially apply until January 14th - so into the new year.
There will be no curfew for the time being, promised Rutte.
So far, an "evening lockdown" has already applied in the neighboring German country with around 17.5 million inhabitants.
Most shops, restaurants and cultural and sports facilities had to close at 5 p.m.
The seven-day incidence - i.e. the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days - was 617 in the Netherlands on Saturday, almost twice as high as in Germany.
Before Rutte's address, media reports of a possible lockdown had led to people pouring into city centers across the country;
long queues formed in front of hairdressers and shops.
Many Dutch people now wanted to do their Christmas shopping practically at the last minute.
The center of Rotterdam was so overcrowded in the afternoon that the city administration called for people not to come back to the city center.
The government advisory body had urgently advised the stricter lockdown because of the Omikron variant.
Time must be gained to protect as many people as possible from Covid 19 disease with a booster vaccination.
The Netherlands is behind with booster vaccinations compared to other countries.
According to the experts, the Omikron variant is spreading much faster than previously expected.
In Amsterdam, the number of infections doubles every two to three days.
It was said that this variant would be dominant in the capital even before Christmas.
At the moment, the number of new infections is falling.
However, the hospitals are under great pressure, so experts fear that they will not be able to cope with a further influx of patients.
In the past seven days, the number of new infections decreased by about 24 percent compared to the previous week.
The seven-day incidence on Saturday was 617. For comparison: In Germany, almost 322 infections per 100,000 inhabitants were recently registered in seven days.