Belgium tightens Covid rules as health system 'is cracking'
Belgium has introduced new measures to curb the surge of Covid-19 infections in the country, following the third emergency meeting of federal and regional governments in three weeks.
"The autumn wave is much heavier than was estimated," Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo said on Friday (3 December).
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"The infection rates are among the highest in Europe and the pressure in healthcare has become unsustainable," he also said, arguing that new measures are necessary because "the system is cracking".
One item on the agenda that proved to be divisive was the closure of schools – a move supported by experts and the federal government but opposed by regional governments.
Belgium's so-called concertation committee of federal and regional governments finally decided to keep schools open, but it impose a longer, three-week, Christmas holiday for primary and pre-primary education. The holiday will now run from 20 December to 10 January.
According to Flemish prime minister Jan Jambon, this extra week will be used to administer the booster shot to the teachers.
And until the school holiday, a class will go until quarantine after two cases of Covid-19 are detected (previously three cases). Additionally, all extracurricular activities will be barred.
Children from the age of six upwards will also have to wear a face mask at school and all other places where its use is compulsory. And parents have been advised to test their children regularly.
For this coming weekend, indoor events with more than 4,000 attendees will be cancelled. From Monday, this will apply to all with more than 200 attendees.
Events with fewer than 200 people inside will still be allowed under the current criteria - that everyone needs to have a corona pass, be seated and wear a face mask.
Museums and cinemas would remain open, but with a capacity limit of 200 people per room.
The committee also decided that restaurants and bars can continue to remain open until 11PM, as it is currently the case – although experts had asked to close them at 8PM.
This new package of measures has already been criticised by representatives of the cultural sector, who argued that the restrictions do not target the source of the problem.
"Instead of fighting the virus, we are fighting culture. Bars open, but culture [events] only 200 people. Who are we fooling?," said Michael De Cock, director of the Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouwburg [Royal Flemish Theatre].
There is also no restrictions for private social life in the so-called "contact bubbles" - despite this also being recommended it by experts. Nevertheless, there is a recommendation to limit contacts as much as possible.
At work, there are no new measures, as the committee previously announced that teleworking is mandatory at least four days a week.
Intensive-care cases expected to peak next week
An average of 318 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised each day in Belgium this week – which represents an increase of four percent compared with the previous week.
There are currently 3,707 people hospitalised in the country, of which 821 are in intensive care.
"Although the number of infections is very high, the number of deaths in our country is lower than in comparable countries, and that is due to the high vaccination coverage," said de Croo.
"Getting vaccinated is an act of solidarity," he added.
More than 75 percent of the Belgian population is fully-vaccinated, and over a million people have received a booster shot.
For his part, Belgian virologist Steven Van Gucht said on Friday that the number of Covid-19 patients on the intensive care units of the country's hospitals are expected to peak next week.
"It is unclear whether we can then expect a rapid fall or whether the figures will remain at that high level," he also said, according to VRT news.
The highest number of new Covid-19 infections (25,574) during this fourth wave was recorded on Monday 22 November.
But new measures will make coronavirus figures fall more quickly, relieving the pressure on the health care sector, Van Gucht said.