Dutch government to extend lockdown till March -RTL news

The Dutch government is set to extend the country's lockdown until March 2, despite calls for more easing as coronavirus infections continue to decline, broadcaster RTL news reported on Tuesday. Prime Minister Mark Rutte is due to give an update on lockdown measures at a news conference later on Tuesday.

The Dutch government is set to extend the country's lockdown until March 2, despite calls for more easing as coronavirus infections continue to decline, broadcaster RTL news reported on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte is due to give an update on lockdown measures at a news conference later on Tuesday. His office has so far said only that primary schools and daycares will reopen on Feb. 8. The Netherlands has been in what the government calls a strict lockdown since mid-December. Last month it imposed a curfew that sparked riots around the country.

Despite growing calls for more easing, the government is expected to announce it will keep non-essential shops, restaurants and bars closed until March 2, RTL reported, citing government sources. The National Institute for Health (RIVM) said on Tuesday there had been 28,628 COVID-19 cases in the past week, down 20% from the week before and the lowest level since lockdown measures were introduced in October.

But this week's decline "would have been greater without the new variants of the virus that have entered the Netherlands, especially the British Variant", the RIVM said in a statement. Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said on Monday that half of the cases in the country were being caused by the new variant as of Jan. 26, up from around a third the week before. The government fears the variant may cause a new wave of infections ahead of March 17 elections.

But resistance to the Dutch lockdown has been growing, and the curfew - the first since World War II - led to several nights of rioting.. The sluggish pace of the Dutch vaccine roll-out, among the slowest in Europe, has meanwhile led to worries the lockdown may be last for another month or more.