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Police officers stand guard following Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's announcement of new measures to fight a reco disease (COVID-19) infections, in The Hague, Netherlands, November 26, 2021. REUTERS/Eva Plevier - 

The Dutch government on Friday (Nov 26) ordered further restrictions including a nighttime closure of bars, restaurants and most stores to stem a record-breaking wave of COVID-19 cases that is threatening to overwhelm the country's healthcare system.

The surge in the Netherlands, the worst in Western Europe, came even though 85per cent of the adult population have been vaccinated, with infections now rising most quickly among schoolchildren, who are not vaccinated.

"The (infection) numbers per day are high, higher, highest," caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at a televised press conference. "That means that we can't get there with just a few small adjustments."

The current wave of Dutch cases, running above 20,000 infections per day for the past week, has continued despite restrictions including the reintroduction of face masks and closure of bars and restaurants after 8 p.m. imposed by Rutte's government earlier this month.

Rutte said on Friday non-essential stores would be closed from 5pm to 5am, and masks would be required in secondary schools.

His government urged everyone who can to work from home, and if they cannot, to follow social distancing guidelines.

The new measures go into effect from Nov 28.

Some experts had argued that a short, near-total lockdown, including school closures, would be needed to push infections down.

Law enforcement officials were preparing for possible unrest after a demonstration in The Hague on Friday to protest against the new measures.

A government proposal - which is not yet policy - to bar unvaccinated people from public places prompted three nights of rioting last weekend.

Dutch hospitals were instructed on Friday to postpone all non-emergency operations to free up beds in intensive care units. Some patients have been transferred to neighbouring Germany//CNA

FILE PHOTO: A shopper, wearing a protective face masks, looks at a poster for a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination centre installed inside a supermarket in Brussels, Belgium, August 30, 2021. REUTERS/Bart Biesemans - 

Belgium detected Europe's first confirmed case of the new variant of COVID-19 on Friday (Nov 26), and at the same time announced measures aimed at curbing a rapidly spreading fourth wave of coronavirus infections.

Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke told a news conference that a case of variant B.1.1.529 had been found in an unvaccinated person who had developed symptoms and tested positive on Nov. 22.

"It is a suspicious variant. We do not know if it is a very dangerous variant," he said.

The new coronavirus variant, first detected in South Africa, has caused global alarm, with the EU and Britain among those tightening border controls as researchers seek to find out if the mutation is vaccine-resistant.

Belgium's national reference laboratory said the infected person was a young adult woman who had developed symptoms 11 days after returning from a trip to Egypt via Turkey. She had flu-like symptoms, but no signs to date of severe disease.

None of her household members developed symptoms, but were being tested.

The new variant has emerged as Belgium and many other European countries are battling a surge in coronavirus infections.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced that nightclubs would close and bars and restaurants would have to shut by 11pm for three weeks from Saturday, and have a maximum six people per table.

The strain on the health service was mounting, De Croo told a news conference, adding,"If we did not have such a high rate of vaccination today, we would be in an absolutely drastic situation".

A previous package of coronavirus restrictions imposed a week ago included enforcing wider use of masks and more working from home.

Under the new rules, private parties and gatherings are also banned, unless they are for weddings or funerals, and Belgians will have to do shopping on their own.

The country's health ministers will meet on Saturday to discuss accelerating the roll-out of vaccine booster doses.

Belgium, home to European Union institutions and the headquarters of NATO, has the sixth-highest number of cases per capita rate in Europe, behind the likes of Austria and Slovakia that have re-entered lockdowns.

The fatality rate though is just below the EU average, with 75 per cent of the population vaccinated against COVID-19//CNA

Commuters walk at the Waterloo station during a tube strike, in London, Britain, on Nov 26, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Tom Nicholson) - 

Central London shops and businesses hoping to receive a much-needed boost from Black Friday (Nov 26) sales were hit by disruption to the tube network as drivers held their biggest strike since 2018.

The 24-hour strike, which started at 0430 GMT (12.30pm, Singapore time), led to the suspension of the Piccadilly, and Waterloo and City lines, and delays on the Jubilee, Central, Victoria and Northern lines.

Transport for London (TfL) said it was running 58 per cent of its usual services.

The walkout of 2,000 Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) members came after disagreements over TfL's plans to make tube drivers take on shifts at night.

The strikes targeted the five lines where TfL used to employ dedicated Night Tube drivers, with the Waterloo and City line also suspended as it shares many of its drivers with the Central line.

The Friday and Saturday Night Tube service was suspended during the pandemic. It was due to restart with a limited service on Saturday.

Joe Swaffham, 36, who commutes from North Greenwich to Moorgate to work for a maintenance firm, said his journey took twice as long and made him 45 minutes late for work.

"Commuters were being less forgiving when trying to get on trains and I got pushed two-throw down the platform – luckily the Jubilee line has a glass wall for safety," he said.

"But I think the train workers shouldn't have to be forced into hours they didn't sign up for," he added.

Shops in central London said the strike could hurt sales on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

"The timing of the strike is particularly disappointing and is a real kick in the teeth for Central London's hospitality and retail sector,” said Ros Morgan, Chief Executive Heart of London Business Alliance, which represents 500 businesses in London's West End.

TfL said there were no plans to hold talks with RMT leaders. "We remain open to talking but there's no concrete plans so far," a spokesperson said//CNA

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. (Photo: AFP) - 

Brazilian health regulator Anvisa recommended on Friday (Nov 26) that travel be restricted from some African countries due to the detection of a new COVID-19 variant, but President Jair Bolsonaro appeared to dismiss such measures.

Anvisa said its recommendation, which would need government approval to be implemented, was to immediately suspend flights from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

The EU and Britain are already tightening border controls as researchers look into whether the new mutation is vaccine-resistant.

Bolsonaro has been widely criticized by public health experts for his management of the pandemic, railing against lockdowns, often refusing to wear a mask in public and choosing not to get vaccinated. Brazil has the world's second-highest death toll from the virus, behind only the United States.

Before the Anvisa statement on Friday, Bolsonaro told supporters it made little sense to close borders.

"What madness is this?," Bolsonaro told supporters when asked if travel would be restricted. "The virus doesn't come in if you close the airport. It is already here."

The news of the variant hammered travel stocks in Brazil, with shares in airlines Gol and Azul plunging about 10 per cent, while travel operator CVC posted an 8per cent fall and planemaker Embraer was down 7 per cent.

In its technical note, Anvisa said that foreigners who have been to at least one of the six African countries cited in the prior 14 days should not be allowed to land in Brazil, while Brazilians arriving from those nations should be required to quarantine.

The health agency said "the new variant appears to have a higher transmissibility."//CNA