© ISOPIX
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The discussion about Sunday shopping in Antwerp has not yet settled. On Radio 1 Monday morning Bart De Wever said that he did not understand the criticism of Governor Cathy Berx and that it had hurt him.
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According to the Antwerp mayor, there was still a meeting between him and the governor on Saturday evening and both had come to the conclusion that a formal decision so late, at an urban or provincial level, no longer made sense.
READ ALSO: Mayor De Wever defends Sunday shopping: “Criticism is apparently only limited to Antwerp
“It is true that we consulted at the time,” says Cathy Berx. “I didn’t want to target Bart De Wever either. I was concerned with the problem of mass shopping just when we need to avoid physical contacts to prevent new infections, save lives and spare the people in healthcare. That the mayor explicitly stated in his video on Facebook that the non-essential stores would close on Monday and that this was the very last chance this weekend, I found very unfortunate (De Wever did this in the run-up to his message that everyone had to be extra careful and that the police would enforce extra, ed.). Communication is more important than formal decisions at such times. I had also emailed all the mayors in the province on Saturday afternoon that it is cynical and macabre to organize a shopping Sunday on All Saints’ Day, the day we remember the dead. ”
“Now that the virus is circulating so fiercely and healthcare is under such pressure, it is too risky and inappropriate to go shopping massively, or to call for it. By the way, I was surprised that we still organize shopping days on such a holiday – we don’t do that at Christmas and Easter, do we? – well, that will be me. Anyway, Mayor De Wever and I have been texting with each other today and we will certainly talk about this calmly and as friends. We’ve been working very well together for many years, with the occasional collision, but that’s okay, and I hope it can stay that way. This period is very difficult for everyone. Nobody cares about more bickering. More than ever, good cooperation is the assignment. ” ie
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