Belgium: facing the Omicron variant, theaters closed from Sunday

It is not excluded that other restrictions follow in Belgium. Faced with the meteoric growth of the Omicron variant, which already accounts for 27% of the country’s contaminations, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced on Wednesday the closure of Belgian cinemas and theaters from Sunday. “We had all hoped for a different Christmas”, explained the latter during a press conference.

Museums are not affected by the new measures affecting culture, said its services.

“Last year restaurants, cafes, shops and hairdressers were closed. Last year during the Christmas holidays we almost couldn’t see each other. This year we can see each other.”, added the Prime Minister. Because indeed, cafes and restaurants, which also feared additional restrictions, can for the moment remain open until 11 p.m. during the holiday season, as has been the case since the beginning of December. There is also no question of a return to “contact bubbles”, limiting the number of guests on New Year’s Eve as in 2020.

From Sunday also, shopping will no longer be possible to a maximum of two (not counting the children of the household), sports competitions will be without an audience, including outside, and “all mass events inside are prohibited”, except weddings and funerals. This ban concerns indoor Christmas markets.

“Teleworking remains compulsory with a maximum of one return day (to the office) per week”, specifies a press release released after the consultation committee.

Following a meeting of the consultation committee, bringing together the heads of the executives of the regions and the communities, the Prime Minister did not however rule out that there could be additional restrictions between now and January if he is It has been found that contaminations with the Omicron variant lead to a rebound in hospitalizations. The daily average of new infections has been halved in three weeks (to 8,300 on Wednesday), but Omicron, which is expected to be dominant in Belgium in the coming days, is causing concern.

“You have to be more careful than ever in a time when there are a lot of uncertainties”, said Alexander De Croo to explain the new restrictions, presented as “precautionary measures”, the situation in the remaining hospitals “very tense”.