Belgium’s Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes announced on Thursday that the country will implement new restrictions, to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases.
“Since last week, the average infection rate has increased considerably. The reproduction number has also risen above 1 since last week. This indicates that the epidemic is flaring up again,” Wilmes said during a press conference, adding that infections hit mostly people aged 20-30.
The new measures were decided by the country’s National Security Council (NCS) and will be introduced as of July 25. Under the new restrictions, people will be required to wear a face mask inside shops, in busy shopping streets, open-air markets and other highly frequented areas.
Bars, cafes and restaurants will be required to keep the contact details or the phone number of customers, in case they need to contact them to retrace infections, with the information set to be destroyed after 14 days.
People returning from holidays will need to fill in a form to notify Belgian authorities 28 hours prior to their arrival.
The NCS also delayed the launch of the fifth phase of Coronavirus exit plan, meaning that fairs and shows will not open on August 1, as initially planned.
Mayors are authorised to introduce stricter measures in the municipalities depending on the epidemiological situation, to combat local outbreaks more drastically.
As of publication, Belgium has recorded more than 64,800 cases and 9,812 deaths, while only on Thursday the country reported 369 new infections.
