Mostly true: Belgium tightens measures, imposes a curfew and closes restaurants

Information that Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo announced a curfew was published at the Russian Internet portal “Izvestia” on October 16, 2020. The news portal says that since October 19 a curfew starts from midnight to 5 am for a month period, Christmas markets will be canceled, cafes and restaurants will be closed.

Russian media writes that due to the situation with the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus infection, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced a curfew in the country. Also at a press conference following government emergency meeting, was announced that Christmas markets will be canceled, and cafes and restaurants will be closed for a month.

In order to check whether the information is true or not, we opened the official website of  Belgian government, then we found the “LATEST NEWS” section on the main page. One of the published news says that the COVID-19 level 4 alert is coming into effect in the country since October 19: indeed the Advisory Committee has decided a number of restrictive measures, including curfew and the closure of Christmas markets. However, the government’s website states that from midnight to 5:00 am, access to public places is prohibited except for important trips that cannot be postponed, such as for medical emergencies, business trips and trips to work.  Also the site says that cafes and restaurants are closed, with the exception for hotels guests who stay in them, and gatherings after funerals for a maximum of 40 people.

Thus, we can conclude that the news presented by Russian Internet portal is mostly true, but omits some important details. Curfew has been imposed and restaurants are being closed, but there are some exceptions such as job and emergency travel and funerals.

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