Brussels Reporter
  • Home
  • Brussels
  • Europe
    • Europe

      COVID: World’s poorest will take over 10 years…

      January 25, 2021January 25, 2021

      Europe

      The Swiss art of automata now part of…

      January 24, 2021January 24, 2021

      Europe

      Coronavirus: Ultra-Orthodox Jews clash with Israeli police to…

      January 24, 2021January 25, 2021

      Europe

      Estonia to get new government, first female PM

      January 24, 2021

      Europe

      New Zealand records first COVID case outside of…

      January 24, 2021January 24, 2021

  • Globe
  • Lifestyle
  • Business

Brussels Reporter

  • Home
  • Brussels
  • Europe
    • Europe

      COVID: World’s poorest will take over 10 years…

      January 25, 2021January 25, 2021

      Europe

      The Swiss art of automata now part of…

      January 24, 2021January 24, 2021

      Europe

      Coronavirus: Ultra-Orthodox Jews clash with Israeli police to…

      January 24, 2021January 25, 2021

      Europe

      Estonia to get new government, first female PM

      January 24, 2021

      Europe

      New Zealand records first COVID case outside of…

      January 24, 2021January 24, 2021

  • Globe
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
Home Brussels Belgian PM relaxes more lockdown measures, slams partygoers
BrusselsFeatured

Belgian PM relaxes more lockdown measures, slams partygoers

by editor June 24, 2020June 24, 2020
June 24, 2020June 24, 2020

Belgium is further loosening its lockdown restrictions, Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès said Wednesday, but she had harsh words for those who have been ignoring the restrictions and holding big parties.

Swimming pools, amusement parks, casinos, cinemas and theaters can reopen from July 1, with 200 people allowed to gather inside and 400 outside if safety measures are respected.

The National Security Council, made up of representatives of Belgium’s different governments, also agreed to allow an increased number of social contacts. Belgians are currently allowed to see up to 10 people outside their household every week. This will be expanded to 15, Wilmès said.

However, the rules have proven difficult to enforce, with a number of mass gatherings held in recent weeks. That includes a party attended by hundreds of students at Place Flagey in Ixelles last Saturday, footage of which was widely shared on social media.

Politicians and virologists called on citizens to display more civic solidarity, with fears that students celebrating the end of their exams and the current good weather will lead to more mass gatherings in the coming days.

Wilmès condemned the party at Flagey, saying she was “shocked” and that “whoever was there directly or indirectly endangered the effort of the past months.”

She also warned the danger of a second wave has not passed, referring to Germany, where a regional lockdown was announced Tuesday affecting more than 500,000 people. Belgium will take preparations for such a scenario, she said.

There will be no change in the advice on wearing face masks, Wilmès said. At present, they are compulsory only on public transport, but she noted: “Only if the epidemic flares up again [could the] wearing of face masks in crowded public spaces become mandatory.”

Over the last week, Belgium has reported a daily average of 93 infections, 16 hospitalizations and five deaths. All these numbers are down on the week before.

Despite initial worries, a Black Lives Matter protest in Brussels on June 6 attended by up to 10,000 people does not appear to have affected the Belgian numbers. While social distancing was nearly impossible at the event, the vast majority of participants did appear to be wearing masks, which was not the case at the recent parties.

Meanwhile, no final decision has been taken on the reopening of schools in September. The regional governments, which are responsible for education, plan to open all nursery and primary schools in September, with secondary schools potentially reopening on a reduced schedule.

Source link

previous post
Insurers wrestle with pandemic problem: How to pay the bill
next post
Europeans ‘radically’ reassessing view on world order due to COVID-19, research finds

Related Posts

Former mayor's wartime past sees Delwaide Dock in...

February 24, 2019

EU approval ratings rose during coronavirus pandemic

November 17, 2020

EU bodies can’t shake off coronavirus shackles

June 15, 2020

Belgium’s spy problem

September 29, 2020

EU leaders see ‘dark red’ and urge Brussels...

January 22, 2021

Thousands of people join the Climate and Social...

May 12, 2019

Belgium bursts the Benelux bubble

May 28, 2020

Garden birds doing badly

February 4, 2019

Child’s death in asylum centre – killers thought...

May 25, 2019

New on the 1st of February: anti-smoking medication...

January 27, 2019
Promotion Image

Recent Posts

  • COVID: World’s poorest will take over 10 years to recover financially from pandemic: Oxfam report
  • Sikkim: Chinese and Indian troops ‘in new border clash’
  • Heatwave sweeps Australian cities and raises bushfire danger
  • Russia Navalny protests: Kremlin hits out at West as it downplays rallies
  • The Swiss art of automata now part of UNESCO’s intangible heritage
Promotion Image

GO!

Lifestyle

  • Scientists are using satellites to count elephants from space for the first time

  • France: Hospital workers demand more resources to fight COVID-19

  • Alexei Navalny: Millions watch jailed critic's 'Putin palace' film

  • Covid vaccine: WHO warns of ‘catastrophic moral failure’

  • Belgium looks good in white

Popular Posts

  • 1

    Beware of scammING. Dirty money of famous bank

    October 6, 2020
  • 2

    Norway: No link established after post-COVID-19 vaccination deaths, says health authority

    January 18, 2021
  • 3

    Assange fight draws in Trump’s new intel chief Ric Grenell

    February 25, 2020

Editor’s Choices

  • European Parliament will set up vaccination centers for MEPs, staff and locals

    January 21, 2021
  • Why ‘equal access’ to coronavirus vaccines is failing poor countries

    January 20, 2021
  • Merkel era may only just be beginning

    January 16, 2021

Opinions

  • Estonia to get new government, first female PM

    January 24, 2021
  • Russian police arrest over 1,300 at pro-Navalny protests

    January 23, 2021
  • Belgium clamps down on cross-border travel

    January 22, 2021

@2018-2021 - Brussels Reporter (www.brusselsreporter.com). All Right Reserved.