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Covid-19: Belgium, a good student bored with confinement

2021-02-25T16:40:34.949Z


The Kingdom, where so many deaths were lamented in 2020, is doing much better this year. So are the European Councils devoted to Covid-19. The leaders compare the health situations between the countries and ask each other about the effectiveness of the measures taken. "This time, Belgium could be the right student," confided a diplomat shortly before the meeting of the Twenty-Seven, which began Thursday. The Kingdom, where so many deaths were lamented in 2020, is doing much better thi


So are the European Councils devoted to Covid-19.

The leaders compare the health situations between the countries and ask each other about the effectiveness of the measures taken.

"This time, Belgium could be the right student,"

confided a diplomat shortly before the meeting of the Twenty-Seven, which began Thursday.

The Kingdom, where so many deaths were lamented in 2020, is doing much better this year.

Even if the numbers are on the rise, they remain relatively low, with some 2,200 infections on average per day, and around 30 daily deaths over the last week.

Read also: Covid-19: Is the European Union preparing a vaccination passport or a health certificate?

These results were only possible at the cost of significant restrictions on freedoms.

The drastic measures taken in the fall have hardly been relaxed since.

Including at the end of the year.

On December 24 and 31, the curfew was maintained and households were not allowed to invite more than one outside person, as required by this famous rule of the social bubble.

The only concessions torn off by some professionals, the reopening in mid-February of zoos, vacation clubs, and also hairdressing salons closed since early November.

"Do you see a lot of poorly dressed people in the street?"

The Belgians went to France and the Netherlands to have their hair done

,

confided then, a bit annoyed, Patrick Dumont, the vice-president of the Federation of Belgian hairdressers.

The Belgian arsenal is also a bitter potion for the many foreign residents, in particular those of Brussels where the European institutions are installed.

Non-essential travel to and from Belgium has been banned since the end of January.

The objective was to avoid massive departures during the February holidays.

But the measure now runs until April 1, unless the Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, and the heads of the federated entities decide otherwise, at the meeting called this Friday.

In a letter sent on Monday, the European Commission gives the Belgian government ten days to explain this provision which it considers

"disproportionate"

.

Read also: Covid-19, non-essential travel: tension mounts around the disproportionate nature of the Belgian ban

The pressure on Alexander De Croo does not come only from the Commission.

Calls to relax the rules are also increasing in the political class, including within the parties in power.

On Wednesday morning, the co-president of the French-speaking environmental party, Jean-Marc Nollet, admitted not always respecting the famous rule of the social bubble.

Lassitude is also gaining ground among the population.

The mask is worn less in the streets and improvised parties have taken place in recent days in parks across the country.

While the variants circulate, everything happens as if the Belgian authorities are now reaching the limits of the turn of the screw imposed on the population.

This is undoubtedly why Alexander De Croo wanted this week to give the Belgians a horizon.

"In April and May, if we hold out well in March, we will be able to deconfin."

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-02-25

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