No extra measures in the province of Antwerp: Cathy Berx wants much more home work and fewer social contacts | Antwerp
AntwerpFor the time being, we should not expect a ban on cultural, sports and youth events in the province of Antwerp. This became apparent after the consultation that Governor Cathy Berx had met with the respective mayors on Monday. “A bidding per municipality is not possible. But I do call on you to be careful and make social contacts.”
The data corona has already led to interventions. For example, Knokke bans all indoor events because the intensive care department of hospital AZ Zeno is full. That problem does not arise in the city of Antwerp and the broad outskirts. Cathy Berx is successful. “In the mayor’s meeting we discussed the pressure on general practitioners and hospitals: the pressure is high. People also drop out at garbage collectors, the police and the fire brigade. There is a lot of virus circulating and that needs to be reduced. The message therefore remains: vaccinate. We ask the higher government for clarity about the long-term vaccination strategy, but also about the testing and quarantine policy.”
Proportional measures
Specific, usually smaller local measures – think of mouth masks in the vicinity of schools – have already been taken here and there in the Antwerp region. Berx: “The municipalities have a toolbox. Measures must be appropriate and proportional and always in consultation with me. But we can’t go to bidding. People now know what to work on after almost two years of pandemic. I would also call on companies to let everyone who can work from home. I ask parents: don’t send your children to school if they should be quarantined. And wear a mouth mask if you have contact with people outside your own family.”
Support base
Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA) responds briefly via his statement. “From the outset, I have made clear progress in taking measures only supra-locally, so not per municipality. If we want as much support as possible for measures, bidding is not a good idea. For the time being, we are also not asking for additional reinforcements at provincial level.”
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