5 August 2020: Update From The Corona Crisis From Ghent

The number of people testing positive for Covid 19 and the number of patients admitted to hospital continues to rise and the economic fallout of the corona crisis becomes more pronounced. Unemployment is up 8% versus the same period last year and the government has seen fiscal revenue fall by almost 10 billion euro. This is a 17% fall in revenue. It is not hard to find an explanation. We have seen a fall in revenue from all types of taxation that are connected to the economy and how it is performing. When shops, restaurants and bars are closed people consume less so there is less income from VAT. In addition to this companies have been given the possibility of delaying part of their tax payments. Whilst Belgium is facing all these challenges the country broke its own standing record for the longest political crisis and longest period without an elected government last Sunday. It has been 592 days since the previous government, led by former Prime Minister Charles Michel, collapsed over inter-party tensions on migration in December 2018. Despite all of this when I wander around downtown Ghent it almost feels like normal. Am I getting used to the new normal? – Grasbrug, Ghent, Belgium