Belgium may need to return to full COVID lockdown - virologist

Reuters

Published Oct 20, 2020 09:04

By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium could be returning to full lockdown if there is no reversal of the surge in COVID-19 infections and hospital admissions, a senior Belgian virologist said in a newspaper interview on Tuesday.

"We would then have to consider even more restrictive measures, which could resemble a lockdown like the one imposed in March and April," Yves Van Laethem told La Derniere Heure.

Van Laethem, who addresses national news conferences on the COVID-19 situation, said only an eventual vaccine or effective treatment would overcome the pandemic.

As cases surge again in Europe, Ireland imposed some of Europe's toughest COVID-19 constraints on Monday, while Wales is set to begin a two-week "fire-break" lockdown on Friday.

Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke said on Sunday that the Belgian capital Brussels and the southern region of Wallonia were "close to a tsunami", with a health situation worse than anywhere else in Europe.

He said a tsunami would mean authorities had lost control of the situation, meaning all non-COVID healthcare procedures would need to be postponed.

The country of 11 million people reported on Monday a daily average of 7,876 new infections in the week to Oct. 15, with an average 252 hospital admissions and 30 deaths.