The coronavirus in Belgium has caused a major upheaval in our lifestyles, with the taking of drastic measures to stem the epidemic. A group of experts is now responsible for establishing an exit strategy from the Covid-19 crisis (GEES). He will make a first report to the government on Tuesday. A National Security Council will meet the next day.
“The return to normal can only be done gradually”, repeated Mrs Wilmès to the deputies. The Prime Minister recalled the economic and budgetary damage of the crisis as the National Bank calculated them on Wednesday, including the 8% decrease in growth this year or a debt which will represent 115% of the GDP. “The situation will be very difficult for all to overcome”, she predicted. “There will be a before and after covid in our way of looking at relationships with others and the way of conceiving our society”. A group of experts on the strategy to end the coronavirus crisis will report on Tuesday, the Prime Minister announced, who will convene a National Security Council the next day.
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The revival of the economy occupies an important place in this reflection. Faced with the pandemic, the parliament has put its trust in the Wilmès executive, but the political divisions remain, and the Prime Minister already announced on March 17 that she would ask for confidence in six months. To answer to the “fundamental choices” of the country, a “government with a full majority within it and in parliament” will be necessary, she said Thursday.
“Do not act hastily”
The N-VA and the Open Vld want to see more clearly on the economic prospects. “I hope that (next week) the government can provide perspectives. I am not asking for a hasty return to normal, but it is important to know that our welfare state can only be guaranteed by the economy. We are not asking to act in a hurry but, on the contrary, in a thoughtful way “, explained Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open Vld).
Environmentalists have warned of calls heard regularly on the right to the rapid revival of economic activity. “At a time when some are in a hurry to restart our economy as before, we want to tell you that the top priority is public health and the protection of the most vulnerable”, launched the group leader Ecolo-Groen, Georges Gilkinet.
Mandatory masks, use of mobile data?
What about wearing the mask in the coming weeks? Several municipalities recommend that their inhabitants wear a cloth mask in the street or in places where they meet people. So far, the government has not taken this route. The Risk Management Group (RMG) which advises the executive does not make such a recommendation but does not oppose the wearing of the mask by the population. However, he warns of the false sense of total security that the mask could provide. To date, distancing and hygiene measures are the most effective in preventing the spread of the virus, according to him.
The Prime Minister, however, asked a task force to examine the problem as part of the deconfinement strategy. Défi encourages him to do so. “We must trust the population. They have very well integrated the confinement and distancing instructions. They will very well integrate the instructions on wearing a mask”, said Sophie Rohonyi. The use of smartphone “data” could also be useful in the context of deconfinement. From the start of the pandemic in Belgium, the Minister of Telecommunications, Philippe De Backer, created a working group on the subject, advised by an ethics committee and in liaison with the European Commission as well as with GGES experts. The requirements of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) remain, he assured.
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