Belgian health authorities have urged people not to look for loopholes to bypass coronavirus measures, and to reduce their social contacts as much as possible, during a press conference on Wednesday.
"We urge you to not look for loopholes to get around the rules, but to use your common sense," said Boudewijn Catry, spokesperson for Sciensano, who stressed that all measures were taken in the spirit of limiting your contacts as much as possible.
Over the past week, 328 people were infected every day in Belgium on average, which is an increase of 70% compared to the week before. Additionally, 23 new patients were also admitted to hospital per day over the past seven days.
"The evolution of the curves is not good, and they have to go down as quickly as possible. The sooner we succeed, the sooner we can get back on track, and avoid a situation like the one in March," Catry said.
According to the Crisis Centre, the current situation is "worrying" and not doing anything would make the situation get out of hand in the short term.
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"At the moment, restricting our social contacts is the most efficient way to suppress the flare-up of this virus. After all, those contacts played an important role in multiplying the number of infections in recent weeks," said Catry. "We can still turn the tide," he added.
The choice of people in your reduced contact bubble has to be reciprocal. "You choose five people, and they choose you," he added. "It is very simple: the number of infections has to be reduced again as soon as possible, which can only be done by significantly reducing our contacts," Catry said.
However, the previous "good habits" remain important to continue to respect at all times. "Keep a distance of 1.5 metres, wear a face mask where necessary, and keep good hand hygiene. And very important: if you are sick or have symptoms that could indicate a Covid-19 infection, stay at home immediately," Catry said.
Additionally, it is "not excluded" that stricter measures, like in the province of Antwerp, will also be implemented in other cities or parts of the country, if infections rise.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
