The reception centre for homeless people Samusocial, located at Poincaré boulevard, has been forced to reduce its number of beds available due to the massive presence of bed bugs. The centre - located near Gare du Midi - has had to reduce available bed spaces to fight the infestation, reports RTBF. Workers have also been forced to submit to appropriate hygiene measures, it adds.
"While the current infestation does not represent any major risk in terms of public health, it does compromise the quality of reception for residents and complicates the working conditions of the workers at this centre," Samusocial explained in a statement.
Currently, the reception centre has gone from 1,180 to 1,100 places and while the centre remains open, Sébastien Roy, Director General of Samusocial, confirms that the long-term objective is to close the centre to completely decontaminate it.
However, before that happens, Samusocial is seeking to move the people who sleep in the centre to another reception centre.
Jules Johnston
The Brussels Times
