The authorities of European countries have taken restrictive measures because of the “omicron” – RBC

Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte since 19 December introduced lockdown. From that moment on, all shops except grocery stores, restaurants, bars, fitness clubs and beauty salons stopped working. The authorities are asking the Dutch to leave their homes as rarely as possible, and no more than two people over 13 years old are now allowed to visit them at the same time. An exception will be made for Christmas and the guest list will expand to four. As of December 20 in the country was recorded just over 12,000 new cases of COVID-19. The vaccination rate of the population here is above 85%, but only 9% received the third dose of the vaccine. Despite the relatively low infection rates, the proportion of cases attributable to the omicron strain is growing steadily. According to the authorities, at the end of December he can be dominant.

Austria, which only on Monday came out of the 20-day lockdown, when shops, catering and other public establishments were closed, is again thinking of closing them. Now the incidence rate in the country has decreased to the indicator of early October: about 2 thousand new cases are recorded every day, of which less than 10% are “omicron”, but the authorities fearthat by mid-January this strain may become dominant. Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein said that while the lockdown will remain for the unvaccinated: they will not be allowed into public places. Also, the country introduces strict entry rules: only those who got three doses of an EU approved vaccine or two doses and has additionally passed a PCR test.

As of December 20, a little more than 15 thousand new cases were recorded in France, but in previous days their number did not fall below 50 thousand per day. In terms of seven-day incidence, the country ranks second in Europe after the UK, slightly ahead of Germany. But for now, it refuses new restrictions – only discos are closed, and access to public places and to transport is still allowed with a “sanitary pass”, which since mid-January will be able to get only vaccinated (the country is not ready to recognize PCR tests as a sufficient basis for issuing a temporary QR code). In fact, the authorities expect to introduce a “lockdown for the unvaccinated.” Taking into account that 90% of the population in France is vaccinated, and every fourth person received a booster dose, the authorities expect that the majority of the population will be able to celebrate the holidays without restrictions.

In Italy, the decision to introduce new measures will be accepted after a government meeting scheduled for December 23. While the omicron is just beginning to spread in the country, as of December 20, 16 thousand new cases of COVID-19 were recorded. It is expected that among the possible measures to contain the new strain will be the introduction of mandatory testing for visits to public places, including those vaccinated.

Spain, which has also identified cases of infection with a new strain, is in no hurry to introduce new restrictions. On Wednesday will pass a meeting with the heads of regions, where the current situation will be discussed. Now access to most public places in the country is not regulated, only in some regions, when visiting restaurants, they ask for a certificate of vaccination. But Catalan authorities intend to secure the right to impose restrictions before Wednesday – Barcelona insists on mandatory curfews, club closings and restaurant restrictions. As of December 20 in the country fixed 79 thousand new diseases, and five days ago this figure did not even reach 3 thousand.