The business owners say they are enraged that their restaurants are threatened with going under due to enforced closures and that no state aid is forthcoming.

They told the ANP news agency that they are prepared to ignore rules in the future because they have lost faith in the government.

Bars, cafes and restaurants have been shut down since mid-October as the government tries to gain control of the spreading coronavirus pandemic.

The government has said it hopes it can let them re-open in the second half of January but has made no promises.

Owners of such dining establishments in a variety of cities - including Alkmaar, Arnheim, Breda, Eindhoven, Leiden, Leeuwarden, Maastricht and Nimwegen - say they will unilaterally re-open on January 17 if the government doesn't mandate such a move by then.

In all, restaurateurs in 50 of the country's 230 locals of the Dutch Hospitality Association (KHN) have signed on.

However, business owners in Amsterdam, the Hague and Rotterdam still have not made the plunge.

KHN chief Rober Willemsen has urged members not to cause problems, reminding them that the group is not about fomenting civil unrest.

But Johan de Vos - a spokesman for the "mutineers" - said they consciously picked January 17 so that the re-opening would come after the Christmas holidays, meaning it would be impossible to blame eateries for any up-tick in infections afterwards.

He added that any re-opening would be conducted in accordance with safety guidelines.

"We are convinced that our industry isn't the problem."

Australian Associated Press