COVID-19: Belgium announces partial lockdown amid fears of potential third wave

Amid rising coronavirus cases, Belgium on March 24 announced a renewed partial lockdown of four weeks, with schools and non-essential stores open to customers by appointment only. While announcing the latest measure, Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that the pandemic is a “big lesson” in humanity for politicians and for everyone. It is worth mentioning that the decision to renew lockdown comes as a potential third wave of COVID-19 was gaining momentum in the small EU country, with hospitalisation on the rise. 

According to AP, earlier this week, PM Croo had even said that the county faces “crucial weeks” as the number of virus cases keeps rising. The government has already decided to pause its plans to gradually ease restrictions in April. Since the start of November, the country has placed night-time curfews, restaurant and bar closures and obligatory mask-wearing. 

COVID-19 in Belgium 

As per reports, a ban on non-essential travel is also in place as hospitalisation due to COVID-19 rose by 27 per cent over the past month. The health officials have warned that the occupation of intensive cares beds by COVID-19 patients could reach a critical level by April 10 if the pace of infections does not slow down. Earlier, Belgian authorities said that the country is “standing at the foot of a third wave of infections”, but they also added that people can help turn that into a “mini-wave” by respecting the rules. 

A total of 22,763 people have died from coronavirus-related causes in Belgium, a country with 11.5 million inhabitants that was among the hardest-hit globally when the pandemic broke. But, even with the rising number of cases, Belgium has reached a milestone of one million people vaccinated against the deadly virus. Now, the country is continuing its vaccination campaign, and it was also one of the few EU member states to have kept using AstraZeneca vaccines when others preventively stopped using them for a few days earlier this month. 

(Image: AP/Pixabay)