Rotterdam mayor closes four cafes and bars for breaking coronavirus rules

Staff serving at a cafe in Amsterdam wearing protective face masks. Credit: DutchNews.nl
Staff serving at a cafe in Amsterdam wearing protective face masks. Credit: DutchNews.nl

Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb has closed three cafes and a sports club canteen for two weeks for failing to respect measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus, despite several warnings.

The move comes three days after health board officials closed three cafes in Amsterdam because of coronavirus – two because they were potential sources of clusters and one because a member of staff continued to work with symptoms.

Amsterdam and Rotterdam are currently the main centres of infection in the Netherlands, and both cities plan to make face masks compulsory in busy areas from August 5.

In Rotterdam, 682 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the past two weeks, and health officials have identified several clusters, particularly involving students.

In Amsterdam, there have been 446 new cases in the past two weeks.

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