18 October 2020: Over 10,000 new infections were recorded in Belgium last Tuesday

18 October 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – Corona figures continue to increase.  Last Tuesday, for a first time, 10,369 people tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The figure is nearly double the 5,686 counted the previous Tuesday. In Germany, for comparison, 7,830 persons tested positive for the virus yesterday. In addition, 2,098 people are currently being treated in hospital and 358 are receiving critical care in Belgium. As of tomorrow, the additional measures that were announced yesterday will finally become effective. Police already announced that they will carry out more checks during their routine work but that there also will be dedicated corona patrols out and about to enforce compliance to the new measures. Several of Belgium’s new measures, such as the shutdown of bars and restaurants, the ban on selling alcohol after 8:00 PM and the obligation to telework where possible, overlap strongly with those introduced as a “partial lockdown” by the Netherlands earlier this week.  However, despite going one step further than the Dutch approach by also imposing a curfew between midnight and 5:00 AM in Belgium one is not speaking of a “partial lockdown”. The measures that will be put in place as of tomorrow are precisely to avoid another lockdown like the one in March. Anyhow, at the end of the day the choice of words really doesn’t matter, we’re all in this situation together and we will need to get through it together. Today’s silhouettes on the beach in Knokke are meant to cheer you up during these challenging times – Albertstrand, Knokke, Belgium.