For the past few days, a photo on which we seem to see Marc van Ranst has been circulating on the canvas and is controversial. Marc Van Ranst wanted to explain himself.
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If he became known to the general public through his numerous interventions in the media, the virologist Marc Van Ranst has not only friends. Because if he is not used to keeping his tongue in his pocket, he does not hesitate to position himself, especially concerning his political opinions, on social networks. We know that his opinions are often to be found on the left (and even extreme) side of the political spectrum and Marc Van Ranst regularly displays his disagreement with members or ideas of the Flemish far right.
And inevitably, this is not without consequence. On May 16, Chris Janssens, head of the Vlaams Belang group in the Flemish Parliament, published a photo taken by an anonymous man, on which we seem to see the virologist in a De Lijn bus. He is not wearing a mask on his face and a white thread near his ear suggests that he does have a mask, but under his chin.
And inevitably, this is controversial, since the wearing of the mask is mandatory in public transport. It remains to be seen when this photo was taken. According to Chris Janssens, who claims that his source is reliable, the photo was taken on May 14, at 9:52 am on the bus 601 near Leuven.
Contacted by our colleagues from Knack, Marc van Ranst did not deny that he had taken the bus that day, and insisted on explaining: “If this man / woman says that I did not have my mask, it was true, right? “, He explained at first, ironically. “I take the bus several times a week to and from Leuven station. The mask was not removed for very long. So what ? It’s good if people are so careful that they snap pictures. “
Whether or not decisive about the veracity of the accusations, the same day, Marc Van Ranst had published a selfie of him while he was waiting for the bus. He had the same clothes as on the controversial photo…
“If I’m on the bus, I have my mask 99.9% of the time,” he said. “Is it possible that I lowered it once for facial recognition of my mobile phone?” It’s possible, I don’t know. I try to wear a mask as much as possible in public transport. Like everyone. I see that some parties like to add fuel to the fire, “regrets the virologist.
Still, according to the anonymous author of the photo, Marc van Ranst had removed his mask longer than for “facial recognition”. This is impossible to prove and it comes from a source that may be tempted to harm it.
In the meantime, if it is easily understandable that you take off your mask for a few moments, whatever the reason (unlocking your phone, having a drink, etc.), the photo is bound to talk a lot …
