(Credit: Arenda Oomen)

The government of Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte has unveiled new set of restrictive COVID-19 measures in order to prevent a full breakdown of healthcare system.

Rutte has imposed a partial lockdown on Nov. 13, but the number of daily COVID-19 infections skyrocketed to 23,709 new cases on Nov. 23, 2021, which is 40 percent higher than the level recorded before the partial lockdown. The government limited the opening hours of restaurants and other non-essential stores in a bid to avoid a full nationwide lockdown.

“From Sunday, the whole of the Netherlands is effectively closed between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m,” Rutte told a televised press conference. “We have to be realistic, the daily figures are still too high.”

De Nationale Opera and The Concertgebouw are forced to limit the number of audiences to 1,250. National security officials met on Nov. 26 to prepare for possible protests after the new measures are announced.