AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Netherlands’ Prime Minister said on Thursday the country does not need to undergo a second lockdown, despite a sharp increase in the number of coronavirus cases.
“The virus is making a dangerous advance and we’re at risk of losing the gains we’ve made together in the past month,” Mark Rutte said after an abrupt return from summer vacation.
“We don’t want a second lockdown and we don’t have to have one, but that won’t happen by itself,” he said, asking tourists to avoid busy parts of Amsterdam and the country’s youth to obey social distancing rules.
The Netherlands’ National Institute for Health reported 601 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, up from 426 a day earlier.
(Reporting by Toby Sterling)
