Belgium's lockdown to last at least eight more weeks: health minister


By Reuters

BRUSSELS - The lockdown of Belgium due to the coronavirus epidemic will continue for at least the next eight weeks, health minister Maggie De Block told the De Zondag paper on Sunday.

People walk along an almost empty shopping street, while Belgian government imposed a coronavirus lockdown in an attempt to slow down the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Brussels, Belgium March 20, 2020.  (REUTERS/Yves Herman/MANILA BULLETIN) People walk along an almost empty shopping street, while Belgian government imposed a coronavirus lockdown in an attempt to slow down the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Brussels, Belgium March 20, 2020.
(REUTERS/Yves Herman/MANILA BULLETIN)

From March 17, Belgians are only allowed to leave home to buy food, for health-related errands or to assist someone in need. Schools and universities are closed and employees of most companies have to work from home.

Non-essential travel abroad is prohibited until April 5, all gatherings are banned and police are patrolling the streets to monitor and enforce the restrictions.

Asked how long this would last, De Block said:

“That’s the million dollar question! We are now heading toward the peak of the epidemic, after which the curve will descend. I think this situation will last for at least another eight weeks. It would be the normal curve.”

She said the estimate was based on what happened in China and South Korea, where the epidemic hit earlier.