[ad_1]
SUBWAYIs Belgium closed again, with curfews and schools closed as in spring? Currently, the country revolves almost exclusively around this question, because the number of infections is increasing, despite the restrictions that are being imposed at an increasingly accelerated rate. In Brussels, more than 1,700 out of 100,000 inhabitants have been infected with the corona virus in the last two weeks, in Wallonia it was even more than 2000; these are among the highest values in Europe. Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke candidly admitted last week that the situation was out of control. But the federal government still doesn’t dare to draw conclusions from this. Like the regions, keep turning the little screws.
Thomas gutschker
Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries based in Brussels.
Wallonia and Brussels have extended the night curfew between 10 pm and 6 am After the cafes and restaurants had to close a week ago, now theaters, cinemas and sports facilities are also closing. In the capital region, the use of a mask is again mandatory in all public spaces as of this Monday. It had been there for the summer, but was later abolished by outgoing Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès in late September, along with a host of other restrictions. That got a lot of approval, but not from the experts. They were right. At that time the epidemic could have been controlled, now it is no longer possible.
However, Wilmès’ fatal decision is hardly criticized in public. The Francophone liberal was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new government. He became infected with the virus and went to an intensive care unit on Wednesday; As a precaution, her condition was last described as stable and did not require ventilation. Experts are now criticizing his successor, the Flemish liberal Alexander de Croo. The chorus of those demanding a new blockade is getting stronger. Microbiologist Emmanuel André, longtime spokesman for the government’s crown, speaks of “the only tool we have left.” “We should no longer wonder what to close. We have to ask ourselves what can be left open, ”André said. Several virologists asked citizens to stay home.
Hospitals are also raising the alarm. 700 of the 2,000 intensive care beds were filled on Sunday. More recently, the number of patients has doubled roughly every seven days, which is why capacities could soon run out. Three hospital associations called the previous restrictions on Friday “completely inappropriate.” “Hospitals across the country are on fire. More and more are reaching the point of saturation, “he said in the dramatic message. This is already the case in Liège. The government ordered all hospitals to reserve sixty percent of their intensive care beds for Covid-19 patients in early November. As in spring, operations that are not absolutely necessary should be postponed. In many places there are shortages of staff, associations report absences between 15 and 30 percent. Sometimes nurses and doctors are catching up on vacations that they had to postpone for a long time. Some of them are ill or need psychological treatment.
Test labs are also very overloaded. Sometimes it takes up to a week before the tests get their result. It seems to be left to chance if the results appear in the contact tracker app. Anyone who has had contact with a person who tested positive but has no symptoms should no longer get tested, but isolate themselves at home, to ease labs.
