Brussels bans trick-or-treating in coronavirus crackdown

A curfew in Brussels will be extended, cultural and sports venues will close and there will be no trick-or-treating at Halloween under tougher measures announced Saturday to curb surging coronavirus cases.

“The situation is very serious, it cannot remain this way,” Rudi Vervoort, premier of the Brussels region, told a press conference. He called on people to support the new measures because “we won’t get out of this if what we decide today doesn’t have broad public support.”

“And, of course, there will be no door-to-door, no processions at Halloween — all of that, clearly, is also forbidden,” he added.

Under the new rules, the curfew will now run from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., rather than midnight to 5 a.m. Masks will be mandatory in all public places. Public gatherings will be limited to four people. Shops will have to close by 8 p.m. and takeaway restaurants by 10 p.m.

Sports venues that will have to close include gyms and swimming pools while the shutdown of the cultural sector will include museums and exhibitions, officials said.

The new rules come into force on Monday and are due to last until November 19 and will apply in all 19 municipalities of the region. Brussels, together with the nearby region of Wallonia, recently posted the highest infection rate per capita in Europe, according to a leading virologist.

This article has been updated.

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