Belgium's National Security Council is set to meet on Thursday ahead of the expiration date of the latest round of measures to contain a rise in new coronavirus infections.
Federal and regional leaders and experts on the coronavirus task force are set to gather on Thursday to discuss the next steps forward, the cabinet of Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès to several Belgian outlets.
A spokesperson for Wilmès did not reply to a request for comment and the prime minister's cabinet has not released any information on the subjects set to be discussed Thursday.
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The meeting comes as Belgium inches closer to completing four weeks of restricted social contacts, a measure imposed in late July as the government scrambled to contain a surge in new cases, drastically reversing relaxations introduced just a month earlier.
Participants to the NSC are expected to decide whether the reduction of social bubbles to five fixed people each week will be maintained in the coming days or modified in any way.
Over the weekend, health officials said that, with infection rates increasing in Antwerp and rising in the Brussels-Capital Region, the capital was now key to the evolution of the epidemic in Belgium.
The meeting federal health institute Sciensano said that the weekly average of new infections had dropped slightly in comparison to last week's figures, but said that the death and hospitalisation rates were rising.
Information on the time at which the NSC meeting will take place has not been made publicly available at this time.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
