Toby Sterling

AMSTERDAM (Reuters] -Restaurants within one Dutch municipality reopened on Friday, while others stated that they would reopen on Saturday, regardless of whether the government plans to lift the COVID-19 ban.

The Prime Minister Mark Rutte would likely order the reopening most shops, hairdressers, and gyms during a Friday night nationally televised conference. This was despite the record number of infections and the strain placed on hospitals.

NOS national broadcaster reported that bars and restaurants would not be able to reopen, citing sources from government. Rutte will be speaking at 1800 GMT.

Dirk Beljaarts chief executive at KHN, which represents the hospitality sector, stated that plans by the government are “clearly unacceptable” to him.

He called on the government not to ignore the lessons of Spain and Britain but to pay attention to the Dutch public opinion that favors an aggressively loosening rules.

Rutte’s caretaker government ordered the lockdown to be implemented in December. The Lockdown was necessary because of a large wave of Delta variant cases that forced the health system into cancelling all care except the most critical and impending emergencies. It appeared as though Omicron numbers would outnumber it.

The record breaking number of 35,000 infected people was announced by the Netherlands Institute for Health on Friday. The lockdown that bans public gatherings has seen infections continue to increase despite this. A record number of over 200,000 were recorded in the week ending Jan. 11.

However, hospitalizations fell slightly.

Hart van Nederland’s poll published Friday showed that 89% support the reopening of stores, while a large majority are also in favor of reopening cultural and restaurant establishments.

Over 86% of Dutch adults have been fully immunized and almost half received booster shots during the lockdown.

Restaurants opened in Valkenburg’s southern city on Friday, defying the rules. The mayor supported the opening and fifteen other municipalities pledged support for Saturday.

Beljaarts, KHN said that it was not about being rebellious but simply to survive after having been hit hard over the past 22 months.

Secondary and primary schools opened on January 10th, after an extended winter holiday. However, they were plagued with frequent class dismissals because of illness or exposure to teachers or students.

Friday’s actions will include a shorter quarantine time after exposure, and an increased use of masks.