Dutch again ban New Year fireworks as COVID cases surge
The Dutch government on Friday outlawed traditional fireworks over New Year for the second year in a row, as hospital workers battle a record surge of COVID-19 infections.
New Year's celebrations in the Netherlands are notoriously wild, with people setting off tens of millions of euros worth of fireworks in back gardens and streets, often causing injuries.
That threatens to clash with a new surge in coronavirus infections, with some 21,000 new cases reported in the last 24 hours - the highest since the start of the pandemic.
Just like last year, the sale and lighting of fireworks will be banned," the Dutch government said in a statement.
"This to prevent an extra burden on care workers, enforcers and paramedics as much as possible," the statement said.
Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said "the number of coronavirus patients are rapidly increasing."
"We must do everything we can to relieve the pressure. Healthcare is already busy," he said in a tweet.
The Netherlands last week announced a partial lockdown targeting shops, restaurants, bars and sports clubs as cases rocketed, the first to do so in Western Europe.
More than 12.6 million people in the country of 17.5 million...