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ofCecilia BenedelleNora Fernstedt
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Spain and Italy are opening again.
At the same time, another European country is shaken by the rising death toll:
In Belgium, a country with 11.5 million inhabitants, more than 4,000 people have died of coronavirus.
With thousands of deaths and severe restrictions, Italy and Spain have long been the focus of Europe’s dramatic coronary reports.
But as both countries begin to open up again, the situation in Belgium has worsened. Statistics show that the country may now be one of the most affected in Europe.
Photo: FRANCISCO SECO / AP
Belgian firefighters donned protective suits before leaving to collect a crown patient in Brussels.
More deaths than China
To date, 4,157 people have died in the country, 262 in the past 24 hours. As a result, Belgium, with its 11.5 million inhabitants, has more population-related deaths from coronavirus than China.
Only Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom, that is, countries with significantly larger populations, have higher mortality rates. The Guardian writes, which refers to an investigation by the European Infection Control Agency ECDC.
At the same time, the ECDC writes that it is difficult to make comparisons between different countries in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, as countries may be at different stages of the outbreak and may report deaths in different ways.
Belgian authorities, for example, expect deaths where suspected but unconfirmed people were infected with the coronavirus. They also include people who died in nursing homes.
Photo: FRANCISCO SECO / AP
A man with a protective mask at the central station in Brussels, Belgium.
Photo: FRANCISCO SECO / AP
A patient with symptoms of covid-19 is transported between two different hospitals in Brussels.
Closed schools and restaurants
Like many other European countries, Belgium has imposed restrictions to stop the coronary pandemic.
Public events are prohibited. Since March 13, schools, bars and restaurants have been closed. Exceptions are made for those who offer takeaways. There is a curfew in part, but it is still allowed to exercise and buy food and medicine.
Photo: PONTUS ORRE
Author Malin Persson Giolito at his home in Brussels.
Writer and chronicler Malin Persson Giolito lives and works in Brussels. She has been in quarantine for a month with her family.
– It’s getting mentally painful, he says to Aftonbladet.
At the same time, he wants to point out that there are those who are much more affected by the closure of the country.
– Both me and my husband belong to those who can put their lives on hold and do the work remotely. We can be home without any major need. We can get everything we need, “she says.
Photo: FRANCISCO SECO / AP
A person who died in covid-19 is cremated in Lommel.
Discussions on opening are ongoing
Brussels Mayor Philippe Close has urged the government to set a date for the closure to end.
– It is not enough to ask people to give up their individual freedom, but to tell them that “we will come back and explain the next step,” he says according to The Guardian.
Right now, discussions are taking place within the country’s national security council to extend the shutdown to May 3, according to The Guardian.
Will test staff
Almost half of all deaths, 46 percent, are people who have died in nursing homes. On Tuesday, the message came that all staff in nursing homes should start getting a coronavirus test, writes The Brussels Times.
But despite the high death tolls, there are a few flashes of light. The number of new corona patients admitted to hospitals every day has declined steadily since the end of March, writes The Guardian. The number of intensive care workers also decreased over the weekend.
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