Live updates: Netherlands, German state discourage contacts
The leaders of the Netherlands and Germany’s neighboring, most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, are appealing to people not to cross their border to shop and eat
December 23, 2021, 3:32 PM
15 min read
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleCommuters wearing face masks to protect against COVID-19 walk across a pedestrian bridge in the central business district in Beijing, Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. China has ordered the lockdown of as many as 13 million people in neighborhoods and workplaces in the northern city of Xi'an following a spike in coronavirus cases, setting off panic buying just weeks before the country hosts the Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
BERLIN — The leaders of the Netherlands and Germany’s most populous state are appealing to people not to cross their border to shop and eat.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Hendrik Wuest, the governor of neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state, said in a joint statement Thursday that “with the spread of the omicron variant in our countries, it is now even more important to limit our contacts.” That, they stressed, “also goes for cross-border contacts.”
The Netherlands imposed a nationwide lockdown on Sunday, shutting all non-essential stores, bars and restaurants until Jan. 14.
Germany has not locked down but it is stepping up contact restrictions — shutting nightclubs and removing spectators from major events — in most regions after Christmas.
Rutte and Wuest wrote that borders are being kept open because people in border regions in particular are strongly intertwined. But they urged people to “deal responsibly with these open borders.”
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC:
— Ever-morphing coronavirus requires holiday calculus for 2nd winter
— Omicron less likely to put you in the hospital, British studies say
— US Supreme Court to hold special session on worker vaccine requirements
Go to https://APNews.com/coronavirus-pandemic for updates throughout the day.
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING TODAY:
LAS VEGAS — A federal judge has refused to block the masking mandate imposed by the school district for metropolitan Las Vegas to combat the spread of the coronavirus, and dismissed a lawsuit filed by two students’ parents.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey on Wednesday denied the request for a preliminary injunction, saying that the parents didn’t establish a viable legal basis for their lawsuit’s challenge to the Clark County School District’s mandate for students and staff.
The parents contended that the masking mandate violated their fundamental rights as parents, including making medical decisions for their children. The parents also said they were left out of the process in which the policies were adopted.
Dorey’s 22-page ruling said the “perceived wrongs” cited by the challenge didn’t violate any constitutional rights.
The ruling also said the parents’ lawyers denied in court that there was a COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the parents’ lawyers, Sigal Chattah, said on Twitter that the ruling would be appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates has recorded its highest daily number of coronavirus cases since August.
The tourism hub on the Arabian Peninsula on Thursday reported 1,000 new infections — a drastic surge from record lows of roughly 50 infections just weeks ago, before the the spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant.
The daily update represents a significant jump from the 665 cases authorities reported on Wednesday.
The UAE boasts one of the world’s highest vaccination rates, with over 90% of the country’s eligible population fully vaccinated. Infections had plummeted in recent weeks, and there were vanishingly few COVID-19 hospitalizations or deaths.
Authorities say the hospitalization rate for COVID-19 remains low, around 3%.
