Photo: ReutersThe Netherlands will go into a strict lockdown over the Christmas and New Year period to try to contain the highly- contagious Omicron coronavirus variant, Prime Minister Mark Rutte says. That is unavoidable because of the fifth wave that is coming at us with the Omicron variant," Rutte told a televised news conference. A failure to act now would likely lead to "an unmanageable situation in hospitals", which have already scaled back regular care to make space for Covid-19 patients, Rutte said. The Omicron variant arrived as the country was already battling a wave in coronavirus infections. Omicron is expected to become the most dominant variant of the virus in the Netherlands between Christmas and New Year's Eve, leading Dutch infectious disease expert Jaap van Dissel said.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 18, 2021 21:03 UTC