Belgium to back down on COVID-19 measures after court ruling

The Belgian authorities They will hold a new consultation committee this Wednesday to reverse the measures it took on December 22 to prevent the spread of the fourth wave of coronavirus in the country, consisting of the closure of the cultural sector and which have been suspended today by the courts.

The federal government met this Tuesday night to discuss the rules in force against the coronavirus, after hearing the ruling of the Council of State on the obligation to close the theater, following a complaint from a theatrical promoter, the newspaper reported “Le Soir”.

For the high jurisdiction, it has not been proven that the frequentation of these rooms is particularly dangerous for the health of the population.

According to that medium, the Belgian Minister of the Interior, Annelies Verlinden, is working on a new royal decree that amends the previous one and predictably returns to the situation before December 22, when up to 200 people were allowed to sit in theaters, but also in theaters.

Thus, the federal government and the regions will meet tomorrow virtually to ratify these corrective measures and, if an agreement is reached, the royal decree will come into force immediately, “Le Soir” specified.

Several platforms of the culture sector in Belgium had also filed a complaint this Monday with the Court of First Instance of Brussels against the new measures of the Government and the regions against the pandemic, so that the royal decree with the restrictions was annulled.

In parallel, the League for Human Rights or the Federation of Performing Arts Employees announced last week that they would appeal to the Council of State to reverse the measures, which the government planned to review in January.

On Sunday, several thousand people – 5,000 according to the police, 15,000 according to the organizers – demonstrated in Brussels against the new sanitary restrictions, while cinemas and theaters remained open by refusing to abide by the new rules.

Belgium, which already had measures such as partially mandatory teleworking and the night-time closure of bars and restaurants, has banned the bulk of indoor cultural activities from this Sunday, with exceptions such as museums or libraries.

In the country, the cumulative incidence has fallen below 1,000 points for the first time in this wave of infections and infections have been reduced at a rate of 25% weekly.