Netherlands: Five-week lockdown
Prime Minister Mark Rutte says the country will go into a strict lockdown for five weeks, from 15 December to 19 January.
Non-essential shops, cinemas, hairdressers and gyms closed on Tuesday and schools were to follow on Wednesday. Citizens have been told to refrain from booking non-essential travel abroad until mid-March.
Restrictions will be eased slightly for the three days of Christmas, when Dutch households are allowed three instead of two guests, not counting children under 13.
Mr Rutte delivered his address as protesters could be heard whistling and shouting outside his office.
"We need to bite this very sour apple before things get better. And yes they will get better. There will come a time when coronavirus will be behind us, when our lives will be normal again," he said.
"It won't be now, or in a week, or a month. But with the vaccine, 2021 will indeed be a year of hope and of light at the end of the tunnel."
The announcement comes amid concern at the surge in infections in the country, recently seeing some 10,000 infections recorded in a single day.
Over the weekend a number of Dutch cities asked people to stay away as photos showed stores packed with Christmas shoppers.
UK: Temporary 'Christmas bubbles' allowed
A brief window of special restrictions has been introduced across the UK to allow people to celebrate Christmas.
Between 23 and 27 December (or 22 to 28 December in Northern Ireland) there will be no travel restrictions and people will be able to mix indoors and stay overnight.
The number of people who can mix is limited, however. So-called "Christmas bubbles" can include a maximum of three households in most of the UK or up to eight people in Scotland.
These bubbles, which can also meet in places of worship and outdoor public spaces, are fixed throughout the festive period. This means people cannot mix with two households on Christmas Day and two different ones on Boxing Day, for example.
However health experts have urged people to think carefully about who they mix with.
It comes as the capital London and some surrounding areas will move to top tier 3 level of rules following a rise in cases and the identification of a new variant of the coronavirus.
From 16 December, pubs and restaurants will close except for delivery and takeaway and most indoor entertainment venues as well as sports stadiums will also shut.
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