Belgium prolongs major restrictions as virus cases rise
February 26, 2021 GMT
BRUSSELS (AP) — The Belgian government will not approve new COVID-19 relaxations for at least another week after health authorities warned Friday that the number of coronavirus infections is rising, probably due in part to the fast-spreading variant first found in Britain.
Until a few days ago, expectations were that Belgium would finally start scaling down major virus-control measures. But the uptick in new confirmed cases and especially an increase in hospital admissions persuaded Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to call for at least a one-week delay.
“The figures are rising everywhere,” De Cross said. “It forces us to remain extremely careful, especially because we know there are such dangerous variants.”