British newspaper The Financial Times praised Belgium on Wednesday for the way it is handling the new coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis.
The Financial Times' Jim Brunsden and Mehreen Khan wrote that, despite what some might have thought, "the Belgian government shows that a fragmented country can still produce a clear, decisive response to a national crisis," to which they added: "Here's hoping it continues."
Brunsden and Khan say that Belgium could even serve as an "example to other countries" with its daily briefing by the FPS Public Health and the Crisis Centre, underlining the fact that it is scientists and experts speaking rather than politicians and pointing out that such briefings are the perfect occasion to debunk rumours and conspiracy theories.
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The Financial Times also points out that these conferences accentuate the human aspects and psychological consequences and allow to fight against fake news, quoting virologist Steven Van Gucht as he said on Tuesday that "the virus does not touch one community in particular, and the response has to be one of solidarity."
They also praise Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès for her calm and serious approach, pointing out that she has a solid parliamentary majority backing her after 14 months of political deadlock.
At Wednesday's daily briefing, it was reported that there were 668 new cases, bringing the total up to 4,937 since the beginning of the crisis in Belgium.
The Brussels Times
