(Dan Tri) – Many European countries have begun to tighten restrictions to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant at the risk of the health system being overloaded.
Omicron may become the dominant strain in Europe early next year (Photo: Reuters).
The New York Times reported that on December 18, the Netherlands became the first European country to announce the re-imposition of a nationwide blockade to deal with the Omicron mutation.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that it is difficult for the Netherlands to avoid the fifth wave of Covid-19 infection when highly contagious variants like Omicron appear.
The Netherlands has struggled to control waves of Covid-19. Currently, the pace of the country’s booster Covid-19 vaccination program is still relatively slow.
Global researchers are racing to decipher whether Omicron is more or less virulent than previous strains of SARS-CoV-2.
Austria has announced stricter entry restrictions for people who have not been vaccinated with a booster shot.
In Denmark, one of the first countries in Europe to see the number of Covid-19 cases increase rapidly due to Omicron, cinemas, theaters, and parks were forced to close.
Ireland also imposed a curfew from after 8pm on restaurants and bars starting from December 19.
Germany late on December 18 announced that it would add Britain to the group of countries at high risk for Covid-19.
The French government also announced the cancellation of the New Year’s fireworks event over the weekend after French Prime Minister Jean Castex likened the spread of Omicron to `lightning fast`.
What is happening in the UK – the place most affected by Omicron in the region – makes European countries fear a similar scenario.
British Health Secretary Sajid Javid did not rule out the possibility of further tightening restrictions before Christmas.
British government advisors believe that the current number of reported Omicron infections in the country may be just the `tip of the iceberg`, the actual number of infections could be tens of thousands of cases per day.
