<p>The Dutch government on Friday outlawed traditional fireworks over New Year, saying the one-off ban would help hospital workers overburdened by the coronavirus pandemic.</p>.<p>New Year's celebrations in the Netherlands are notoriously wild, with people setting off tens of millions of euros (dollars) worth of fireworks in back gardens and streets, often causing injuries.</p>.<p>That threatens to clash with the second wave of Covid-19 infections, with more than half of the country's 609 intensive care beds currently occupied by coronavirus patients.</p>.<p>"The sale and lighting off fireworks will face a one-off ban during the coming year-end," the Dutch cabinet said in a statement.</p>.<p>"This is to avoid extra pressure on already over-burdened care workers and to maintain public order," it said.</p>.<p>Anyone breaching the ban will be liable for a 100 euro ($118) fine and a criminal record, Dutch Justice Minister Ferd Grapperhaus told public broadcaster <em>NOS</em>.</p>.<p>The Netherlands has been under a partial coronavirus lockdown since early October to curb the coronavirus pandemic, with cases on a slow downward trajectory but currently running at around 6,000 a day.</p>.<p>Although fireworks have been set off for centuries in the Netherlands, it has been particularly popular at New Year's since the 1950s.</p>.<p>The Dutch fondness for fireworks turns streets to battlefields as rival groups of revellers fire them at each other, flooding emergency wards with people with burn injuries of missing limbs.</p>.<p>Last year more than 1,300 people had to be treated for fireworks-related injuries.</p>.<p>"Even without the impact of coronavirus, there is always a heavy burden on first-aid workers and police over this time," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at his weekly news conference on Friday.</p>.<p>An organisation representing the pyrotechnics industry in the Netherlands, however, questioned the wisdom of the move.</p>.<p>"We are afraid that due to the ban some fireworks enthusiasts will turn to illegal fireworks" with lower safety standards, said Marcel Teunissen, chairman of the Dutch Pyrotechnics Federation</p>
<p>The Dutch government on Friday outlawed traditional fireworks over New Year, saying the one-off ban would help hospital workers overburdened by the coronavirus pandemic.</p>.<p>New Year's celebrations in the Netherlands are notoriously wild, with people setting off tens of millions of euros (dollars) worth of fireworks in back gardens and streets, often causing injuries.</p>.<p>That threatens to clash with the second wave of Covid-19 infections, with more than half of the country's 609 intensive care beds currently occupied by coronavirus patients.</p>.<p>"The sale and lighting off fireworks will face a one-off ban during the coming year-end," the Dutch cabinet said in a statement.</p>.<p>"This is to avoid extra pressure on already over-burdened care workers and to maintain public order," it said.</p>.<p>Anyone breaching the ban will be liable for a 100 euro ($118) fine and a criminal record, Dutch Justice Minister Ferd Grapperhaus told public broadcaster <em>NOS</em>.</p>.<p>The Netherlands has been under a partial coronavirus lockdown since early October to curb the coronavirus pandemic, with cases on a slow downward trajectory but currently running at around 6,000 a day.</p>.<p>Although fireworks have been set off for centuries in the Netherlands, it has been particularly popular at New Year's since the 1950s.</p>.<p>The Dutch fondness for fireworks turns streets to battlefields as rival groups of revellers fire them at each other, flooding emergency wards with people with burn injuries of missing limbs.</p>.<p>Last year more than 1,300 people had to be treated for fireworks-related injuries.</p>.<p>"Even without the impact of coronavirus, there is always a heavy burden on first-aid workers and police over this time," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at his weekly news conference on Friday.</p>.<p>An organisation representing the pyrotechnics industry in the Netherlands, however, questioned the wisdom of the move.</p>.<p>"We are afraid that due to the ban some fireworks enthusiasts will turn to illegal fireworks" with lower safety standards, said Marcel Teunissen, chairman of the Dutch Pyrotechnics Federation</p>