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Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Alamy Stock Photo

Netherlands to ease Covid restrictions from today as WHO says Omicron risk remains 'very high'

Bars, restaurants and museums in the country will be allowed to reopen from today.

LAST UPDATE | 26 Jan 2022

THE NETHERLANDS WILL this week lift some of Europe’s toughest Covid restrictions with bars, restaurants and museums allowed to reopen their doors, Prime Minister Mark Rutte has said.

Rutte said the move, which takes effect from today, was in response to “great tensions” with the catering and cultural sectors over a virtual lockdown imposed days before Christmas.

“The Netherlands has missed you,” Rutte told a news conference.

“Today we are taking a big step to further unlock the Netherlands. That feels contradictory while the contamination figures are going through the roof, and we have to be clear that we are taking a risk,” he added.

Anger mounted after Dutch shops, gyms, hairdressers and sex workers were allowed to resume business on 15 January, but other venues had to stay shut.

Cafes in several cities opened in defiance of the restrictions the weekend before last, while dozens of museums even opened as beauty salons for a day in protest.

nijmegen-netherlands-14th-jan-2022-a-view-of-the-cafe-van-buren-closed-terrace-during-the-hard-lockdown-tonight-the-cabinet-is-expected-to-announce-a-relaxation-of-the-coronavirus-rules-for-highe Cafes closed in Nijmegen. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Rutte said that the government was “consciously looking for the limits of what is possible, because of the great tensions and cries for help in recent days”.

While new infections are running at around 60,000 a day, fuelled by the Omicron variant, intensive care admissions and deaths have been falling in the Netherlands.

Health Minister Ernst Kuipers warned that it was “not the flu” and the situation remained sensitive, with hospitalisations rising again this week after a long period of decline.

But he said relaxing the curbs was important. “Living for longer with restrictive measures harms our health and our society,” said Kuipers.

Cafes, bars and restaurants can open again until 10pm from today, so long as patrons have a Covid pass, wear masks when not seated, and capacity is reduced, the government said.

Cinemas, theatres and museums may also welcome back customers, but nightclubs must stay closed for the time being.

demonstrators-take-part-in-a-protest-against-the-dutch-governments-restrictions-imposed-to-contain-the-spread-of-the-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-in-amsterdam-netherlands-january-16-2022-reute People protesting against lockdown restrictions in Amsterdam on 16 January. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Fans can also return to football matches and other professional sports, but stadium capacity will be limited.

Quarantine rules for schools will also be relaxed, with classes no longer having to shut if three or more cases are confirmed, and children under 18 need no longer isolate after contact with an infected person.

But the government is still urging people to work at home and limit the number of visitors to four.

The current measures will remain in place until at least 8 March.

World Health Organisation

It comes after the WHO said the risk level related to the Omicron variant remains very high, with the numbers of new Covid-19 cases hitting another record high last week.

“Over 21 million new cases were reported, representing the highest number of weekly cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic,” the World Health Organisation said in its weekly epidemiological coronavirus update.

The UN health agency said the number of new infections increased by 5% in the week to Sunday – compared to the 20% rise registered the week before.

“A slower increase in case incidence was observed at the global level,” the WHO said.

Nearly 50,000 new deaths were also reported, it added – a similar figure to the week before.

The report said Omicron continued to increase its dominance globally over the other variants of concern.

“The current global epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 is characterised by the dominance of the Omicron variant on a global scale, continued decline in the prevalence of the Delta variant, and very low-level circulation of Alpha, Beta and Gamma variants,” the WHO said.

“Countries that experienced a rapid rise in Omicron cases in November and December 2021 have been or are beginning to see declines in cases.

However, “based on the currently available evidence, the overall risk related to the Omicron variant remains very high”.

The WHO said that of samples collected in the last 30 days that have been sequenced and uploaded to the GISAID global science initiative, Omicron accounted for 89.1%.

Delta – previously the world’s dominant variant – now makes up 10.7%.

© AFP 2022 

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    Mute Stephen Duggan
    Favourite Stephen Duggan
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    May 13th 2015, 6:34 AM

    I knew a fella that lost both feet to frostbite, he drank two hot whiskeys, and not only did his feet grow back, he got a part in riverdance. True story.

    376
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    Mute Ronan Sexton
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    May 13th 2015, 6:50 AM

    Pics, or it never happened.

    38
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    Mute Celticspirit321
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    May 13th 2015, 6:54 AM

    Even better, here’s the video https://youtu.be/jjxTTjJtXDA

    15
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    Mute John Fahey
    Favourite John Fahey
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    May 13th 2015, 6:53 AM

    Irish whiskey, among many other Irish companies are missing out on major new markets, namely China.

    This is a MASSIVE new market, and their marketing is no where. You see Scottish whiskey advertisements everywhere, and as a result, Johnny Walker is being sold for crazy money over there, albeit mixed with bottles of green tea!

    Not only is Scottish whiskey advertised, but Scotland and its “brand” are shown, including images of golf (another booming industry!) etc. You see similar examples of France when cosmetics or wine is advertised.

    You do see Irish whiskey in shops, Jameson is available for approx €10 a bottle (made in Ireland too!) But it’s not treated as high end, where serious money can be made, by any means.

    Being a small nation, I feel our companies need a co-ordinated effort to help use brand “Ireland” to market themselves in China. Our government should be involved, as this will not only help boost exports, but also help to increase tourism etc. Reducing the visa paperwork will only go so far.

    An aggressive approach is very much needed. It would be a major boost for Ireland to be known in China as “being the best in the world” for something like whiskey, as it would help put us on their map, which we aren’t yet on.

    135
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    Mute Freddie Rincon
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    May 13th 2015, 3:56 PM

    Same in Latin America. I imagine they simply could’nt supply the demand? 20 brands of scotch the odd place will have Jameson.

    5
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    Mute Rory J Leonard
    Favourite Rory J Leonard
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    May 13th 2015, 7:42 AM

    Mr John Teeling is to be commended for his Trojan efforts in injecting new life into the Irish Whiskey sector over the past twenty years or so.

    This former University lecturer in Business studies, is a true Entrepreneur, who has practiced what he preached!

    77
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    Mute Chris
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    May 13th 2015, 12:34 PM

    Love the stuff too, great product.

    6
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    Mute Mark Gerard Lochlain
    Favourite Mark Gerard Lochlain
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    May 13th 2015, 6:27 AM

    Yea purely for medicinal purposes!!!! *cough*!! Ya can bate a hot toddy sitting at a winters fire to kill the cold!!

    70
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    Mute Emily Elephant
    Favourite Emily Elephant
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    May 13th 2015, 7:20 AM

    “We need the government to be innovative …”

    And that’s where I stopped reading.

    54
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    Mute Alan Corlett
    Favourite Alan Corlett
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    May 13th 2015, 8:37 AM

    Whisky in brown envelopes, now there’s an idea :)

    16
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    Mute Conor O'Neill
    Favourite Conor O'Neill
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    May 13th 2015, 6:35 AM

    Hate whiskey. Taste like petrol and makes people crazy

    27
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    Mute richard fennessy
    Favourite richard fennessy
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    May 13th 2015, 7:31 AM

    Ooh your loss Conor

    46
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    Mute Hipster Enda
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    May 13th 2015, 9:12 AM

    You’ve been drinking the wrong whiskey

    28
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    Mute Joseph Siddall
    Favourite Joseph Siddall
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    May 13th 2015, 9:39 AM

    If it states “95 Octane” on the label you might want to think about changing your supplier.

    30
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    Mute josecafe
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    May 13th 2015, 7:16 AM

    Yeah the good ole whiskey will fix this country like the good ole days

    22
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    Mute Sloop John G
    Favourite Sloop John G
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    May 13th 2015, 7:40 AM

    Smells like teen spirits !!!

    18
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    Mute Patrick Brompton
    Favourite Patrick Brompton
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    May 13th 2015, 10:02 AM

    An old Irish whiskey I would like to taste is “Tabby-toes” described by Molly Keane in a memoir called ‘The Athenry Country’ in her 1933 book called ‘Red Letter Days’. She writes’At an old Georgian house we dismounted from our horses, leading them around its wide-spread wings to the quiet stir of the stable yard, and presently sitting down to the best of all teas, eggs and bacon and potato cakes, preceded by a whiskey of peculiar excellence; an old liqueur brand extinct now, known as “Tabby-toes.” I cannot easily forget it. And through its mellowing warmth I can see again the strong and graceful lines of all the Chippendale and Sheraton furniture with which the dining room was crowded…’.

    12
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    Mute Colm Odinson
    Favourite Colm Odinson
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    May 13th 2015, 3:17 PM

    A big problem is just how “scabby” Irish whiskey looks compared to the Scottish variety.

    Scottish whiskey is all about single malts, produced in small quantities, and sold at a luxury price. It gives off an air of luxury, sophistication, even a bit of mystery. They trade off the perceived romance of the Scottish highlands.

    Irish Whiskey is dominated by a few big brands, who churn out fairly homogenised stuff. It just utterly lacks the taste, variety and image of Scottish whiskey.

    I’m sure the Irish variety can change, but it would require a lot of investment into small businesses and a fair amount of imagination into how it’s marketed.

    4
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    Mute Big Yellow Crane
    Favourite Big Yellow Crane
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    May 13th 2015, 10:59 PM

    Was just thinking that and that the brands which have disappeared up here; Coleraine, Dunvilles, Comber, didn’t exactly fire the imagination. But I’ve just read that Dunvilles is making a comeback with an Ards based distillery, Echlinville, releasing a batch under that name in 2016 so they must think there’s value in it.

    2
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    Mute whereisspace
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    May 13th 2015, 11:10 AM

    Our great Irish-American family the Kennedy’s had a lot to do with the rise of the Scottish branded whiskies. People associate whiskey with the term “Scotch”, and a scotch in america is seen as an item of sophistication (notions! :-)) . This association of course travels internationally though the various american media outlets, films and tv shows that are sold throughout the world.

    Marketing has a lot to do with it, we’re a bit behind but I’m sure the Irish companies are doing their bit to make a positive change.

    4
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    Mute Ian Aston
    Favourite Ian Aston
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    May 13th 2015, 12:25 PM

    Where can I buy those old Whiskey bottlles/jars from the picture?

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    Mute Ian Aston
    Favourite Ian Aston
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    May 13th 2015, 12:28 PM

    Ian, why has whiskey got a capital W and why can’t you spell bottles you dope?

    10
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