BRUSSELS, Nov 28, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Belgium will allow shops to reopen from
December 1, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Friday, but the country’s
semi-lockdown will remain in place to bring down coronavirus infections.
“The situation in our country is improving… but it’s important to keep a
lid on things,” De Croo said, warning that the Christmas and New Year
holidays would be “different” this year.
So far, only retailers of essential goods, such as food, have been allowed
to stay open.
But the move to allow other shops to resume business mirrors similar
easing measures in Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
France, too, is scheduled to allow non-essential retailers to lift their
shutters from today (Saturday).
Belgium, home to EU institutions and located in a busy intersection for
European travel, had been one of the worst-hit in a second wave of the
coronavirus on the continent.
Bars, restaurants and cafes will remain closed, and people will continue
to be required to work from home where possible, limit social contacts. A
curfew from midnight to 5:00 am (2300-0400 GMT) will also remain in place.
This year “we will celebrate Christmas with our families, in small
numbers. It will be more intimate,” the prime minister said.
There would also be no fireworks at New Year.
“We mustn’t spoil in four days what we’ve achieved in four weeks,” De Croo
said, but suggested that a more general easing of restrictions might be
possible from mid-January if infection numbers continue to come down.
The premier also advised people not to travel to other countries with
higher caseloads and said that border controls would be put in place and
quarantine requirements imposed for travellers returning from virus hotspots.
Belgium has recorded nearly 570,000 infections since the start of the
pandemic, but recently appears to be getting the situation under control.
An average 2,765 daily cases were registered last week, just a fifth of
the number last month.
And authorities hope to bring that cases down to around 500 per day by the
end of the year.
The number of hospital admissions has been halved in the past two weeks,
and there are currently 4,395 people in hospital down from 7,500 at the
beginning of the month.
The number of coronavirus patients in intensive care stands at 1,034, down
from a peak of nearly 1,500 on November 9.
In all, more than 16,300 people have died from the virus in Belgium since
the start of the pandemic, including 142 in a single day on Thursday.