“A shopping Sunday should actually be regarded as an event and can get out of hand without checking the number of attendees,” says virologist Marc Van Ranst. Van Ranst therefore calls for a system of access control to be devised for, among other things, the Antwerp Meir, for example with side gates.
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“You have to avoid getting to the Meir in 101 ways. If that does not work, then as mayor you have to ban such a shopping Sunday, ”he said on Radio 2. Van Ranst does, however, recognize that a shopping Sunday can in theory be a good idea because you spread the number of shoppers over an extra day.
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Answer from De Wever
“A Sunday like this does not differ from a Saturday and provides extra spread,” says Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA) in a response. “Providing access to the Meir is logistically impossible, but we have sensors, cameras and mobile phone counting so that we can intervene when and where it would become too busy,” De Wever said through his spokesperson. “Antwerp is also a recognized tourist center, not only on the Meir there are shops that open on Sundays.”
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