COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium
The COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium has resulted in 4,861,157[2] confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 34,339[2] deaths.
The virus was confirmed to have spread to Belgium on 4 February 2020, when one of a group of nine Belgians repatriated from Wuhan to Brussels was reported to have tested positive for the coronavirus.[5][6] Transmission within Belgium was confirmed in early March; authorities linked this to holidaymakers returning from Northern Italy at the end of the half-term holidays.[7][8] The epidemic increased rapidly in March–April 2020. By the end of March all 10 provinces of the country had registered cases.
By March 2021, Belgium had the third highest number of COVID-19 deaths per head of population in the world, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. However, Belgium may have been over-reporting the number of cases, with health officials reporting that suspected cases were being reported along with confirmed cases.[9] Unlike some countries that publish figures based primarily on confirmed hospital deaths, the death figures reported by the Belgian authorities included deaths in the community, such as in care homes, confirmed to have been caused by the virus, as well as a much larger number of such deaths suspected to have been caused by the virus, even if the person was not tested.[10]
Background[edit]
On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[11][12] First reports of COVID-19 started to appear in the Belgian media around 8 January.[13]
The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003,[14][15] but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[16][14] (see statistics below)
Government response[edit]
Authorities[edit]
Efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium are managed by the nine federal and regional health ministers, Maggie De Block (Open VLD, federal government), Wouter Beke (CD&V, Flemish Community), Christine Morreale (PS, French Community), Antonios Antoniadis (SP, German-speaking Community), Bénédicte Linard (Ecolo, French Community), Valérie Glatigny (MR, French Community), Alain Maron (Ecolo, Brussels), Elke Van den Brandt (Groen, Brussels) and Barbara Trachte (Ecolo, Brussels),[97] with the support of:
Impact[edit]
Politics[edit]
While Belgium had been struggling to form a new federal government since the elections of 26 May 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked new debate on the ongoing formation, as the actual minority caretaker government Wilmès I would not have all the ability to tackle the coronavirus crisis and its consequences.[222]
The idea of forming an emergency government emerged. Representatives of N-VA and PS, the two majority parties that have not been able to come to an agreement so far, started to discuss again on 13 March,[223] eventually joined by Open Vld, MR, CD&V and sp.a on 14 and 15 March.[224] Those discussions however were inconclusive as Bart De Wever (N-VA) wanted to be the new Prime Minister[225] and as PS and MR refused to nominate new Prime Minister and Ministers, arguing it would be a waste of time.[226] Talks between political parties continued the next hours and were extended to Ecolo, Groen, cdH and DéFI.
An agreement has finally been found on 16 March under the form of a continuation of the Wilmès I Government, with the exception that the government now has full legislative powers rather than being just a caretaker government. The new Wilmès II Government composed of MR, Open Vld and CD&V, while representing only 38 of the 150 representatives, will be supported by opposition parties PS, sp.a, Groen, Ecolo, cdH and DéFI within the limits of handling the coronavirus crisis in Belgium.[227][228] The government also received certain plenary powers to deal with the pandemic quickly and effectively.[229]