European countries are taking measures to curb the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
Germany has joined France in banning travel from the United Kingdom. According to a report by BBC, German nationals and residents will still be allowed to enter the country from the U.K. but they must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test and quarantine for two weeks, regardless of vaccination status. The measure went into effect Sunday, December 19.
Beyond the U.K., Germany has added Denmark, France, Norway, Andorra and Lebanon to its “high-risk” list restricting movement between the countries. The U.K. will remain on the list of areas of variants of concern until January 3 at the earliest, according to The Hill.
According to The New York Times, an average of 77,410 cases per day were reported in U.K. in the last week, and increase of 71 percent from the average two weeks ago. That said, deaths have decreased by 6 percent. On Sunday, the country reported over 81,000 new cases—its highest single-day total of the entire pandemic.
Over the weekend, the Dutch government ordered a nighttime closure of bars, restaurants and most stores. The current wave of Dutch cases, according to Reuters, is totaling over 20,000 new cases ions per day for the past week; the rise has continued despite the reintroduction of face mask requirements and the closure of bars and restaurants after 8 p.m. Now, all non-essential stores, hospitality venues and cultural institutions will be closed from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m.
In addition, indoor gatherings in the Netherlands will be limited to a maximum of two guests per household until at least mid-January (with that number bumped up to four guests per household for Christmas and New Year’s).
The government also floated the idea of banning unvaccinated people from public areas but that results in three nights of rioting.
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