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IIn the country with the highest infection rate in Europe, the lives of its citizens are even more restricted. However, after hours of consultation, the federal and regional governments were unable to agree to a closure with permanent exit restrictions on Friday. For millions of Belgians, this means that, despite the new measures, they will be able to travel in the autumn holidays that are now beginning. Holiday parks and zoos will be closed, but hotels will not. Second homes can also continue to be controlled. Borders remain open, even if traveling abroad is “strongly discouraged”. The virologists, however, had demanded a closure as in France; the Wallonian government had also campaigned for him.
Thomas gutschker
Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and Benelux countries based in Brussels.
All “non-material” businesses must close by December 13th. Each person in a household can only have close contact with one other person, until now there have been three. Two contacts are allowed for people living alone. A maximum of four people can be together in public spaces. Hairdressers and other professions with direct physical contact have to stop working. A maximum of 15 people is allowed at funerals. Teleworking becomes mandatory whenever possible.
School holidays will last one week until November 15. At the secondary level, half of the lessons should take place practically until the Christmas holidays, with the exception of the Abitur class. The measures apply from Monday, must be reviewed on December 1.
“Last Chance Measures”
“Our country is in a state of health emergency,” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said. All physical contacts should be limited as much as possible so as not to overload hospitals. The Flemish liberal said it was “a last chance measure.” But there is no reason to buy hamsters, the grocery stores remain open.
Health authorities had set a new record on Friday with nearly 24,000 new infections in 24 hours. In terms of incidence, the country with 11.5 million inhabitants is ahead of all other countries in Europe: with 1,600 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants in two weeks. That is nine times higher than in Germany. The situation also deteriorated in hospitals. Of the 2,000 intensive care beds available, 1,057 were occupied on Wednesday. For comparison: on Sunday there were 700.
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At this rate, the country would be without intensive care units by November 10. All hospitals must be at full capacity for Covid 19 patients by Monday. Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke called for “interim solutions” to be found and for medical students to be mobilized. Now you have to show flexibility and creativity. Not all ventilators have to be in the intensive care unit.
Several experts had urged the government to take even tougher measures. “There is currently no indication that the restrictions imposed so far are effective,” said virologist Marc Van Ranst. “As in neighboring countries, the time has come for an emergency brake: stay home.” Microbiologist Emmanuel André asked the government on Twitter “to have the courage not to waste any more time in the face of a phenomenon that has already overtaken us.” . Hospital associations also called for a strict closure.
In Wallonia, which has been particularly hard hit, patients have already had to be turned away and transferred to other hospitals. Therefore, the Walloon regional government called for drastic cuts in public life. Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo had announced before the meeting that they would work “to go as far as possible with the restrictions.” However, Flanders, ruled by the Flemish nationalist party N-VA, resisted another shutdown. The incidence of infection varies considerably across regions. While the incidence in Flanders on Friday was 1084, in Wallonia it was 2729; the capital region of Brussels had a value of 2,249.
More recently, regions with their own restrictions had created a hodgepodge of rules. The curfew in Brussels and Wallonia begins at 10 pm, but not until 12 am in Flanders. Fitness studios and museums can also stay open there, unlike the rest of the country. Brussels and several Walloon cities introduced a general obligation to wear a mask in public spaces, in Flanders only municipalities on the North Sea coast did. Many commentators blame federal chaos for not following the rules correctly.
