No coronavirus fines were imposed on Sunday despite many people sitting in groups without masks in Brussels’ parks, the police said.
The green areas of Brussels, particularly the Parc du Cinquantenaire and the Bois de la Cambre, were very popular on Sunday because of the good weather.
"Observation: a lot of people without masks. The police are watching but cannot be everywhere despite the deployment of extra patrols," stressed Ilse Van de Keere, spokesperson for the Brussels-Capitale/Ixelles police.
"Common sense and dialogue are our guidelines,” she said, adding that “it was impossible to verbalise all those who did not respect the measures.”
"We know that it is difficult to live with all the measures," commented Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden on Radio 1.
However, flouting the rules is "not the wisest thing to do," she said. "It can cause us all to have to follow the measures even longer because there can be clusters of infections because of this."
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"People know why we have imposed the measures," she continued. "Occasionally there is a collective discharge, but I think even these people know that this is absolutely not wise. We cannot allow this, because a lot of other people are put at risk in this way."
Brussels has suffered 93,210 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, and the Region's daily average over the last 7 days has increased to 236.6 cases, a 6% increase compared to the week before.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
