Dutch PM Rutte: Netherlands will go into lockdown from Sunday

People do their Christmas shopping before the Dutch government's expected announcement of a "strict" Christmas lockdown to curb the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, in the city centre of Nijmegen, Netherlands December 18, 2021. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The Netherlands will go into a new lockdown from Sunday morning to try to limit COVID-19 infections because of the Omicron coronavirus variant, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Saturday.

"The Netherlands is again shutting down. That is unavoidable because of the fifth wave that is coming at us with the Omicron variant," Rutte told a news conference.