The Antwerp local police has issued 84 official reports last week for not respecting the curfew that went into effect last week to curb the spread of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) in the hard-hit city.
The persons in question were on the public domain between 11:30 PM and 6:00 AM and could not prove that they had a necessary reason for this.
502 people received a report because they were not wearing (or did not have) their face masks on public transport or places accessible to the public.
A total of 627 reports were drawn up in Antwerp from 29 July to 5 August for infringements of coronavirus measures, 77% of which were about not wearing a face mask or wearing it incorrectly.
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The police also checked a large number of catering establishments, 40 of which were found to be in breach of their customers' obligation to register. There were also 11 reports for not respecting social distancing and two for high-risk consumption behaviour such as sharing a shisha pipe.
Since the start of the coronavirus crisis in March, the Antwerp police have already issued 5,000 official reports for all kinds of violations of the coronavirus measures, involving some 10,000 people and more than 400 businesses.
According to the police, since the reuptake in infections, the number of violations has risen again, probably because stricter measures are in place again and because more checks are being carried out.
Since 25 July, the police have checked almost 3,000 catering establishments. The majority were found to comply well with the measures, but 64 cases have already been closed for "flagrant violations" such as the failure of the manager or staff to wear a mouth mask. 40% of the closed businesses were pubs and 33% were restaurants. However, some shops with essential food were also closed.
The Brussels Times
