A lockdown violating event - organised with facilities befitting a small nightclub - was shut down in a warehouse this weekend, as Belgium begins to face up to infections rising once again.
Around 100 people were reportedly present at the event in Laeken, which included a disco, a shisha bar, nitrous oxide and alcohol, and a shuttle service had even been organized to take the participants to the party.
"There were indications that the partygoers did not know in advance where they were being taken, perhaps to protect the location," Olivier Slosse, spokesman of the police zone of Brussels Capital - Ixelles told Bruzz.
The police were dispatched to the venue - a 200m² warehouse near the Pannenhuis metro station - around 2:00 AM, following complaints of excessive noise. Their arrival prompted partygoers to flee, but police managed to identify around 60 participants, coming from all over Belgium, as well as France and the Netherlands, according to police.
Related News
- College of Europe closes communal spaces after lockdown parties
- Minister demands tougher fines for lockdown party organisers
Those caught face a fine of €250. Police also fined the organisers €750 and confiscated the material found, before sealing the illicit venue.
The average number of new daily coronavirus infections in Belgium has risen for the second day in a row, according to the latest figures published by the Sciensano public health institute on Monday.
Between 4 and 10 December, an average of 2,231.3 new people tested positive per day over the past week, which is a 3% increase compared to the week before.
The Brussels Times
