Many people in Brussels are not complying with the obligatory face mask rule implemented yesterday, said Inge Neven, head of the health inspectorate, during a press conference on Thursday.
"This morning, about half of the people I saw were not wearing a face mask," Neven said, adding that she is afraid that people are tired of complying with the rules.
On Wednesday, the obligation to wear a face mask in the entire Brussels-Capital Region went into force, as the average number of new coronavirus infections per day passed the alarm threshold of 50 per 100,000 inhabitants.
She stressed that this is a joint fight of the government, citizens and the medical world. "Everyone's behaviour counts," she said.
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Instead of focusing on what is not allowed because of the coronavirus measures, "we have to make people aware of what we can still do," Neven said. "We want to make sure that schools can open, and that we can avoid more measures," she added.
The Brussels infection figures, with 675 new cases in the last seven days, remain "worrying," according to the region. Four municipalities, namely the City of Brussels (Brussels 1000), Anderlecht, Schaerbeek and Molenbeek, are among the ten worst-hit in the entire country.
Additionally, the testing capacity in the Region will also go up. Last week, 12,000 tests were carried out. "At the moment there are sufficient tests available," said Neven.
During the first week, a maximum of 10,000 tests were carried out per week. Now, however, the capacity is still being increased further.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
