Brussels needs to urgently implement stricter measures to keep up with the spread of the coronavirus in the region, according to the latest from Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès
"There are places in our country where stricter Corona measures need to be put in place." Wilmès said on 'The Morning' on Radio 1, explaining that recent easing of measures were taken because the country was a yellow zone at that time.
"Our country is still a yellow zone today, but we know that certain places - like Brussels - are no longer a yellow zone. And stricter measures need to be taken there," she explained.
The only way to combat spread, according to Wilmès, is to 'very quickly' adopt new measures, something which will be high on the agenda of a meeting between the PM and the Minister-Presidents later today.
"Yesterday, the Celeval evaluation committee met, and then it was said that it is not asking for any additional measures today, but they must be taken in the short term. We have to prepare this and we are going to do it now,' Wilmès said of the meeting.
Quick To Adapt
The day after the National Security Council announced relaxed coronavirus measures in Belgium, Wilmès had already said that it was likely that extra restrictions would need to be implemented.
"I can already tell you that there is a very good chance that more restrictions will come in a short period of time," she said in the House. "It is true that the evolution of the health situation in our country is not favourable."
"It is better to have more flexible rules that are complied with by many people, than to have strict rules that are not supported by anyone," Wilmès said, adding that that was exactly what happened with the contact bubbles.
However, with the situation as it stands now, the authorities advise people in Belgium to not have close contact with more than five people per month.
This approach will "evolve according to the epidemiological situation," she said, adding that the more serious the health situation becomes, the more the number of recommended social contacts will be reduced.
The Brussels Times
