The Netherlands bans Christmas gatherings, Paris cancels its New Year's Eve fireworks, and London declares COVID-19 a major incident as Europe battles the 'lightning' spread of the Omicron variant.
Nations across Europe have moved to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of COVID-19 infections spurred by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.Omicron is now the dominant coronavirus variant in LondonThe Netherlands led the way by imposing a nationwide lockdown.
The Mayor's declaration allows local councils in Britain's capital to coordinate work more closely with emergency services.Alarmed ministers in France, Cyprus and Austria also tightened travel restrictions. Yet Omicron's "substantial growth advantage" over the Delta variant means it is likely to soon overtake Delta as the dominant form of the virus in countries where the new variant is spreading locally, the UN health agency said.Shops across Europe have been swarmed by Christmas shoppers, causing some governments to urge people to stay away.Residents will only be allowed to have two visitors, except for on Christmas and at New Year, when four will be allowed, according to Mr Rutte.
The Dutch public health institute's director, Jaap van Dissel, described the shutdown as a preventative move that would "buy time" for more people to get booster vaccines and for the nation's health care system to prepare for a possible new surge in infections. The maskless protesters blew whistles, yelled "Freedom!", told passers-by to remove their face coverings and marched with banners showing the faces of Mr Johnson and the UK's Health Secretary, accompanied with slogans such as: "Give them the boot."
Britain and other nations are also accelerating the pace of booster shots after early data showed that two doses of vaccine were less effective against the Omicron variant.Omicron is now the dominant coronavirus variant in London, and efforts are being stepped up to reach people who have not yet been vaccinated or boosted.
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