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Belgium wants to avoid a second wave of coronavirus at all costs. The Belgian government announced on Monday a new tightening of health rules, including a curfew imposed in the province of Antwerp. Another measure: the number of people that Belgians are allowed to see as part of their "contact bubble" has been lowered from 15 to 5 people from Wednesday for the next four weeks.
Belgian Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Philippe Goffin explained Tuesday morning on Europe 1 the reasons for this turn of the screw.
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"Fairly noticeable" increase in new cases
Belgium has recorded in recent days a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. On average, 279 people per day acquired a Covid-19 infection in the past week, up from 163 the previous week. "We have seen the virus indicators go up quite significantly. We decided at the level of the federal government to strengthen measures to prevent this second wave from being too violent," explains Philippe Goffin. "It is the beginning of a wave which concerns certain regions of the country. There are towns and places which are particularly affected, it was therefore felt that measures should be strengthened throughout the territory", continued the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The government has also decided to limit public events to 100 people indoors (instead of 200) and 200 outdoors (instead of 400) and wearing a mask will be compulsory. In addition, private gatherings (receptions, family reunions, wedding parties, etc.) are restricted to a maximum of 10 people (not counting children under 12).
A curfew in the Antwerp region, particularly affected
The Flemish province concentrated 47% of the new infections recorded in Belgium last week. Consequence: even more severe measures have been taken in the region of Antwerp, the most populous city in Flanders. "A curfew has been decreed in the city and province of Antwerp, with the closing of bars and restaurants at 10 p.m., and sport is no longer possible in groups. In this region, the measures are already many. stricter than in the rest of the country ", explains Philippe Goffin.
However, the Belgian authorities assure that they were not taken by surprise by this epidemic rebound. "We imagined it (the second wave) with the summer period. There is a great need for vacations and freedoms, we demanded a lot of effort from the population. A lot of people pass through Belgium, we are at the heart of Europe. It was relatively expected, "said the Belgian minister.
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Avoid a second wave and re-containment
On Monday, the Belgian Prime Minister stressed that the measures taken by her government aim to "avoid a general reconfinement". But "all the scenarios are unfortunately on the table", specifies Philippe Goffin. "These measures are taken to avoid a second wave and that we have a new school year in good conditions", he hopes.
The country had 66,026 cases listed since the start of the pandemic and 9,821 deaths on Monday. Belgium is one of the countries with the highest number of deaths from Covid-19 compared to its population, with 85 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. "In Belgium we play the most total transparency: when there are suspicious deaths in nursing homes (nursing homes), we decided to count them as Covid. In some cases we have undoubtedly gone too far, it is a statistical management which is in question, relativized Philippe Goffin.