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Brussels key to controlling Belgian coronavirus epidemic, experts say

by editor

The fate of Belgium’s coronavirus epidemic lies in the hands of Brussels, national experts have warned.

Belgium’s worrying spike in infections has mainly been caused by an outbreak in Antwerp, which accounts for a third of new cases. Antwerp introduced new restrictive measures, such as a nightly curfew, and has managed to bring the infections down by 17 percent. Experts are now turning their focus to Brussels.

“In Brussels the number of new infections is going up. Today, we even see an increase of 42 percent. If this number continues to go up like this, the national figure may go up again,” epidemiologist Brecht Devleesschauwer told VRT.

The Belgian capital is becoming a new hotspot and is seeing a rise in infections, while rates in the rest of the country are going down. The country reported 588 new cases per day over the past week through Sunday, which is slightly lower than the just over 600 reported cases last week.

Earlier this week Brussels imposed mandatory masks everywhere, which has been met with mixed levels of compliance. Experts say it will be a week at least before its effects will be seen.

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