The mayor of Liege, Willy Demeyer, asked Tuesday the citizens of the Netherlands and Germany not to go to the city following the decision to close the non-essential shops due to the increase of Covid-19 infections in those countries.
This decision came into effect on Tuesday in the Netherlands and will be effective as of Wednesday in Germany. The fear of Dutch or German nationals arriving in Belgium is real, especially after Belgians were reported flocking to those very countries when Belgium closed its own non-essential stores.
As for Liège, which generally welcomes a lot of Dutch and Germans during the festive season, there is currently little reason to fear. The current situation is that there are people moving around in the city but there is no great influx. "So there is still capacity at the moment," explained the mayor of Liège.
The situation could rapidly change between now and the weekend and the return of milder weather.
It is for this reason that Demeyer specifies that policemen and stewards will circulate in the city and that they will make sure that the shops are visited in compliance with the health rules in force. The Liège police will also use the camera network to monitor the situation in the shopping streets and intervene if necessary.
"And if it becomes apparent that there are problems with the traffic in the city centre and/or in certain shops, we will take action," he added.
The Brussels Times
