The Netherlands hit with 3-week lockdown, clubs forced to close by 9pm

Whilst the world appears to be recovering nicely from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Netherlands have been dealt a huge blow, with their Prime Minister Mark Rutte announcing a 3-week lockdown beginning today.

It comes after the Netherlands recorded its most ever cases in one day, with their 7-day average surpassing over 12,000 cases. This is also despite the fact that approximately 85 percent of the country’s adult population is fully vaccinated against the virus.

As you would expect, the lockdown isn’t doing the live music industry any favours. Night clubs only reopened in the Netherlands barely two months ago, but now they’ll be forced to close their doors by 9pm each night. Some clubs wouldn’t even be open by 9pm…not to mention that masks were again made mandatory to be worn indoors only last week.

The recommendations of the Netherlands’ lockdown, made by Rutte in his press conference yesterday, were for people to work from home as much as possible, and only have a maximum of four visitors in the home. Local businesses have been hit hard, with restaurants, bars and non-essential retailers having to close between 6pm and 7pm each night. It’s also a massive blow for sporting events too, where fans won’t be allowed to attend. However theatres, cinemas and schools will remain open for the three-week period. You can see the full list of new restrictions here.

This comes after the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ appeared to have been reached, with renowned events Amsterdam Dance Event and A State Of Trance taking place only weeks ago. It’s a huge setback for the events industry, with many organisers likely to cancel and postpone more shows.

Unfortunately, this appears to be the world as we know it, and whilst it feels we’re nearly there, the fight against Covid-19 is far from over.

Image Credit: Unmute Us