The Dutch Minister of Health Hugo de Jonge has called on his compatriots not to go shopping in Germany or Belgium for the time being in view of the corona pandemic.
“If it is unreasonable to go through the shopping streets in the Netherlands, then it is also unreasonable in Antwerp or Aachen,” said De Jonge on Wednesday, according to the ANP news agency. “I urge you to stay at home.”
In the Netherlands, a lockdown is in effect until at least January 14th, which is intended to slow down the spread of the highly contagious Omikron variant. Shops, restaurants, schools, cultural and sports facilities are closed. Exceptions apply to supermarkets or pharmacies. Omikron has officially been considered the dominant variant of the corona virus in the Netherlands since Tuesday.
In order to escape the lockdown and to be able to visit shops and restaurants at least under 2G conditions, many Dutch people have traveled to cities in neighboring countries in the past few days. The Dutch railways advised against using trains towards Belgium on Wednesday. They are often so overcrowded that it is impossible to keep the required minimum distance. (dpa)