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De Wever takes sides with virologists

The Antwerp mayor and co-formator finds it a mistake to not limit the bubble of fifteen people.

Antwerp Mayor and N-VA chairman Bart De Wever believes that people should have fewer contacts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. “We cannot impose smaller contact bubbles on people. Not even me as mayor. The National Security Council could have done that. But it did not. I’m not going to lie: I regret that. I think this is a mistake and, unfortunately, people will have to do it very soon. Screw back to ten at least. And no changing ten, but regular ones, ‘he says in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws.


The National Security Council could have reduced the bubble, but it has not. I’m not going to lie: I regret that.

Bart De Wever

Mayor of Antwerp and chairman of the N-VA



He also calls for better coordination at national level of the fight against Covid-19 and a more vigorous approach. “We are already stricter. I fear for the rest of Flanders that we actually just do a little earlier, which others will have to do later. “

With a rapid increase in infections, Antwerp has become one of the dangerous local breeding grounds. The last seven days, 395 infections have been confirmed and that number will increase in the coming days, the mayor agrees.

Mondmaskerplicht

That is why the city imposes stricter enforcement and registration in the catering industry, an extensive mouth mask obligation, a ban on gatherings of more than ten people and a ban on alcohol sales between ten in the evening and seven in the morning. Risky consumption behavior is also prohibited. A resident from a residential care center is tested and insulated as standard if they have been outside.

In the newspaper, De Wever repeats his plea for a legal framework for the state of emergency, as exists in other European countries. The measures that the Security Council has taken are not sufficient in the current Antwerp context, he says. With these statements, De Wever seems to increasingly support virologists, who are pushing politicians for a more consistent approach to infections.

Bart De Wever also says he is concerned about the Sacrifice feast on July 31, because all generations gather there. “The Muslim community needs to be sensitized,” he says. “This is done via the crisis cell in Antwerp, without a ‘big horn’: people feel quickly targeted.”

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