Marc Van Ranst calls the new measures from the federal government a strong signal and speaks of ‘lockdown-like measures’, he said in VTM Nieuws. The virologist once again calls on people to follow the rules strictly and not take advantage of it one last time this weekend.
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The catering industry must be from Monday for at least a month. ‘A firm measure, in this way a number of transmission channels will be removed’, Van Ranst says. ‘The example set by the neighboring countries France and the Netherlands will certainly have played a part in the decision. I also urge not to take advantage of it one last time this weekend, that would be irresponsible. ‘
From Monday there will also be a night clock, people have to stay indoors between midnight and 5 am. ‘That mainly works against illegal parties and is again a strong signal. In Antwerp there was initially a lot of criticism of the measure, but it has worked. And we have noticed that there is also support for this decision ‘, Van Ranst continues.
The number of close contacts goes from three to one. ‘That was planned, so that’s no surprise. The experts quickly agreed on this, ‘said the virologist. “It will only be difficult to control what is happening within the four walls, but I hope that the population will interpret the signal correctly.”
Van Ranst is positive that the new measures will have an effect, but says we still have to be patient. ‘Hopefully we will see the results of the first measures within a few days, to see the effects of the new measures we have to wait another 10 to 12 days. I am hopeful yes we can, but we have to do it all together. ‘
‘You can’t eat and drink with a mask’
Infectiologist Erika Vlieghe defended the decision to close cafes and restaurants in the studio of To the point. “We definitely have evidence of clusters of contamination in restaurants in China and Japan in the first wave,” Vlieghe said. ‘Only within Belgium is the solidity of our cluster research not yet good enough and not strong enough, but the absence of evidence does not mean that there is no evidence.’
‘Theoretically, there are an awful lot of arguments to focus on that, I think it’s a shame that that decision is now being questioned,’ says Vlieghe. ‘The catering industry is really the place where you do risky things, you cannot eat and drink with a mask, it is typically the place where people are close together in not always well-ventilated areas, speak loudly or shout loudly, eat and drink so don’t use a mask, that’s the reality. ‘
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