1. Home
  2.  » 
  3. Health
  4.  » 
  5. Coronavirus
  6.  » The Netherlands Imposes Strict New Lockdown

Riots broke out in Rotterdam when the lockdowns were first imposed. The new restrictions to be imposed on Sunday will be the fifth lockdown in Holland

News Brief – Dec 18, 2021

The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has announced the imposition of a new lockdown that will last until mid-January at least.

Ostensibly to curb the spread of the new omicron variant, the lockdown will build on the 5.00 a.m.-5.00 p.m. curfew that’s already in place for non-essential shops, bars and restaurants.

The new measures were announced despite a steady decline in the number of Covid-19 cases.

Despite the fact that South African doctors, who were among the first to identify the new variant, have declared Omicron to be less severe than Covid-19, the Netherlands is still imposing draconian new measures.

Dr.Angelique Coetzee, the head of the South African Medical Association, described the symptoms of the Omicron variant as “unusual but mild”.

This assessment appears to be borne out by the latest figures coming from the Netherlands. Where thus far not one death from Omicron has been reported.

Meanwhile, a similar tendency to overreact to the latest news about Omicron also seems to prevail in London.

On Saturday Dec. 18, London Mayor Sidiq Khan announced a major incident over a “huge surge” in new Omicron cases.

Speaking to reporters at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge Football ground, which was being used as a vaccination centre, Khan said that he was “incredibly concerned” and that the number of vaccination centres across London would increase:

“We are already feeling the impact across the capital and, while we are still learning about this variant, it’s right that London’s key agencies work closely together to minimise the impact on our city, including helping to protect the vital vaccination programme.”

Khan’s warning was echoed across the Atlantic where Dr Anthony Fauci warned that U.S. hospitals could also be “overwhelmed” by the new variant.

This all adds to the impression that our political leaders have redoubled their efforts to foment fear and anxiety. After all, in the young and otherwise healthy, Covid-19 seems only marginally more severe than seasonal cold and flu. If the Omicron variant is less severe, as seems to be the case, then Covid-19 has morphed into an unpleasant but relatively mild seasonal ailment.

So why do our political leaders appear to be trying whip-up fear and anxiety over Omicron? Do they realise that despite the media’s best efforts this will soon become common knowledge?

Almost 23 million of the UK populace have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 yet. That’s almost one third of the population and if we extrapolate from that then a large portion of the global population has still not been vaccinated either. Is Omicron a last ditch effort to convince them to get jabbed before the vaccine’s uselessness in “protecting health” becomes self evident?