Dutch gov’t orders partial lockdown amid COVID surge | Al Jazeera

Caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has announced a three-week partial lockdown amid surging COVID-19 cases in the Netherlands, saying his government wants to “deliver a hard blow to the virus”.

The lockdown that begins Saturday night is the first to start in Western Europe since a new wave of infections began surging across parts of the continent.

Under the lockdown, bars, restaurants and supermarkets will have to close at 8pm (19:00 GMT), professional sports matches will be played in empty stadiums and people are being urged to work from home as much as possible. Stores selling non-essential items will have to close at 6pm.