Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo is currently unable to confirm if the Consultative Committee will meet early tomorrow, he said during a Parliamentary session about the rising coronavirus figures.
When asked about reports that the next Consultative Committee meeting - initially scheduled for Friday 26 March - would be brought forward to tomorrow by several federal MPs, De Croo could not confirm them.
"It must be clear to everyone that we have to be very careful," he said. "The experts and commissariat are making an analysis right now. We are currently evaluating the figures."
Broadly speaking, the rising figures are in line with what the experts predicted based on the models that were presented during a press conference in late February, according to De Croo.
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"An increase in hospitalisations in late-March, early-April, followed by a decrease," he said. "However, we now see that this increase is coming much earlier. That worries us."
Looking at the figures more closely, infection clusters are mainly taking place in the workplace and in schools, De Croo said. "That is why I asked for a meeting with the employers to stress very clearly, once again, that teleworking is and remains an obligation."
In light of the figures, however, it is too early and "too unsafe" to talk about perspective. "The figures should help us determine what is needed. What is important is that we can safeguard the perspective for the schools on 19 April, and for certain reopenings on 1 May."
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
