Police in Antwerp broke up nine parties held in violation of anti-pandemic regulations between Saturday night and Sunday morning, Mayor Bart De Wever said on Sunday on the VRT’s ‘Zevende Dag’ TV programme.
Tickets were issued to 74 persons, but others managed to slip away from the police.
The Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA) leader deplored the reactions of some of the revellers, who tried to prevent the police from entering the premises concerned and insulted them.
The parties were held in different parts of the city, in upscale areas and poor neighbourhoods alike, De Wever said, calling on city residents to respect the rules imposed by the government to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus pandemic. The fines will be heavy, he warned, “since we have agreements with the Prosecutor’s Office and it will press charges.”
The pandemic curves are not yet good enough, especially in Antwerp, De Wever said, criticising the positions taken by Francophone liberals and the Prime Minister of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Pierre-Yves Jeholet (MR).
On Saturday, Mr. Jeholet asked Belgium’s Prime Minister to include on the agenda of a Consultative Committee session billed for 18 December, a review of social distancing measures for the Christmas/New Year holidays and the closure of hairdressing salons.
The Brussels Times
