Belgian virologist Steven Van Gucht has warned the Dutch not to cross the Belgian border for non-essential shopping as the Netherlands prepares for another lockdown.
After the opposite phenomenon happened in November, with many Belgians ignoring the National Crisis Centre’s advice against going to shop in the Netherlands, Van Gucht took to Dutch news agency ANP to urge against border crossings.
Van Gucht told people to “go to your local shop, order online,” underlining that “it’s the people that spread the coronavirus."
He acknowledged that keeping people from crossing the border is difficult, telling ANP that “we also ask Belgians not to travel, but this is particularly difficult in border regions.”
Related News
The evolution of the figures in the Netherlands is worrying, Van Gucht said, pointing to "the dynamics of the virus."
The number of coronavirus cases in the Netherlands is increasing, with nearly 10,000 new infections per day according to Dutch media.
In the meantime, Belgium also saw its average number of new daily coronavirus infections increase in the past two days.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
