The Netherlands and the Czech Republic have said they will follow Germany into strict second lockdowns over the holiday period, the Guardian said yesterday. It said Italy was weighing similar measures to avoid a fresh surge in coronavirus infections over Christmas and new year. In a rare television address, the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, said non-essential shops and businesses, gyms, museums, cinemas and theatres would close for five weeks after the country’s seven-day new case average rose by more than 40% in the past week. Bars and restaurants in the Netherlands have been closed since mid-October but the partial lockdown has not slowed the spread of the virus enough, Rutte said, as anti-lockdown protesters booed and whistled outside his office. “The Netherlands will close for five weeks,” Rutte said. “We’re not dealing with a simple flu like the people behind me think … I’m afraid we’re going to have to swallow the bitter pill until things get better – which they will.” Meanwhile, restaurants, hotels and indoor sports venues in the Czech Republic, which reopened barely a fortnight ago, will also close again from Friday, said the prime minister, Andrej Babiš, as cases began to rise again after dipping earlier this month. Public gatherings will be limited to six people indoors and out, instead of the current 10 and 50, with a nationwide curfew from 11pm until 5am and an early start to Christmas school holidays, although shops will remain open. “This year’s Christmas will be totally different, but that is the result of the situation we are in,” the health minister, Jan Blatný, told a news conference. Italian media reported the government was considering placing the whole country under “red-zone” lockdown from Christmas Eve until at least 2 January amid mounting fears of infections over the festive period.