Belgium shutters bars and eating places to fight coronavirus – POLITICO

Curfew from midnight to five a.m. can be imposed and shut contacts restricted to 1 particular person outdoors the family.

Belgium will shut its bars and eating places for one month from Monday to fight a surge in coronavirus instances, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo stated at a press convention Friday.

The measure can be evaluated after two weeks and take-out will stay doable. Till now, bars had been closed solely in Brussels.

A curfew from midnight to five a.m. may even be imposed, as was already the case within the provinces of Walloon Brabant and Luxembourg.

As well as, the variety of social contacts will grow to be extra restricted. Till now, Belgians had been allowed to have shut contacts with as much as three individuals outdoors their family. That’s now diminished to 1. In the meantime, teleworking would be the rule the place doable.

Faculties, nevertheless, stay open. Schooling falls below the accountability of regional governments, which is able to resolve whether or not to shut within the coming days. French-speaking faculties have prolonged the autumn half-term break by three days, till November 11, to curb the unfold of the virus. 

The brand new restrictions come as Belgium continues to wrestle with a rising fee of infections. Within the nation of 11 million, there are on common nearly 5,500 new infections per day, whereas the variety of individuals hospitalized and the variety of deaths retains on rising.

“The unfold of the virus continues to speed up. The figures proceed to rise and typically even double,” De Croo stated, including that “our medical doctors and hospitals are below stress.”

In a separate assertion, Belgium and the Netherlands collectively known as on residents to postpone any non-essential journey between the nations — with out defining important journey. The border stays open, and people who have to journey should observe precautionary measures throughout their go to and after their return.