Belgium's Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke has asked hospitals to ease the country's reception crisis by offering accommodation to asylum seekers.
A spokesperson for the Minister confirmed the story on Monday, after it was first reported by Het Laatste Nieuws over the weekend.
"We have asked care institutions if they have any vacant areas or buildings," the spokesperson said, adding that several hospitals have already responded positively to the request.
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The spokesperson also noted that hospital staff and patients would not be expected to interact with those seeking asylum.
Last week, human rights group Amnesty International accused the Federal Government of "systematically violating the rights of people seeking asylum" and claimed that it had "show[n] contempt for the rule of law" by refusing to offer asylum to unmarried males.
"Today, about 2,600 people are thus still waiting for reception by the Belgian State," said Wies De Graeve, Director of Amnesty International Flanders. "Many of them are forced to sleep on the streets or live in makeshift tents in appalling conditions."
