Deconfinement: in Belgium, cafes and restaurants have reopened

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An employee of the restaurant Inn R Green in Brussels, serves customers during the reopening this Monday, June 8 after weeks of restrictions due to the epidemic. REUTERS / Yves Herman

Text by: Pierre Benazet Follow

Belgium is continuing its timid deconfinement that began on May 4. After twelve weeks of closure, cafes and restaurants were able to reopen their doors this Monday morning.

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From our correspondent in Brussels,

Between the social distancing measures and the bad weather, there were not yet many customers in Brussels cafes and restaurants on Monday. But for Jean-Louis, who is currently deprived of contact with his grandchildren, it is above all the resumption of social life: "  Me, coffee is only to meet friends . For me it is important to see the friends seated at a table.  "

Restaurants and cafes lowered the iron curtain on March 13 at midnight and for this first day, optimism prevails. This is the case of Trần who runs a cafe on a square in Brussels, even if he had to cut his reserves during confinement and even if the rain makes his terrace less welcoming than he hoped.

"  What I experienced was very hard," he admits. Anyway, I'm happy now. We will see. I apply more or less the constraints. I am very happy with the opening.  "

The limitations have in any case not cooled Manuel and Sophie who have just had a coffee and intend to reoffend. "  We have reserved for tomorrow noon at King Albert just opposite, there," explains Sophie. We want to go there and we want to support it too. "  It was at King Albert that we had our first date  ," says Manuel. "  It's true, that's where we got to know each other,  " adds Sophie, laughing. "  It's been over 10 years, it matters to us,  " adds Manuel.

And to support the sector, the Prime Minister herself had publicly announced that she had made reservations for the restaurant this Monday evening.

This phase 3 of the deconfinement should allow recovery for a Belgian hotel and restaurant sector which estimates losses between 45 and 50 million euros per day.

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