The two most populous cities in the Netherlands began ordering people to wear face masks in busy streets on Wednesday, amid rising coronavirus infection rates. Police in Rotterdam said a number of people opposed to the mask order staged a protest in the downtown area where masks became obligatory.
Amsterdam ordered masks to be worn in the red-light district and busy shopping streets and markets. Many visitors to the narrow lanes and canal-side roads of the neighborhood ignored the instructions, despite signs informing people of the new measure.
The mask orders came into force a day after the Dutch public health institute reported a near-doubling in confirmed infections in a week to 2,588, the AP news agency reports.