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Women’s groups launch petition calling for Charles Michel to resign: European women’s associations have written to the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, asking him to step down. They feel he did not respond well in the “Sofagate,” controversy where he failed to stand up for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Covid vaccine: One in five eligible Walloons has received a first dose: 20% of people in Wallonia who qualify for a vaccine against coronavirus have now had at least one first dose.
Police shut down 300-person rave outside Brussels: Police shut down a 300-person rave party in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw on the outskirts of Brussels this weekend. The partygoers pelted the police with glass bottles and tried to flee through the roof of the warehouse where the party was held.
Construction begins on new bridge near Tour & Taxi: Construction begins on the long-awaited Susan Daniel Bridge over the Brussels Canal, starting 15 Thursday. The bridge will connect Rue Picard in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean – near the Tour & Taxi event space – and Boulevard Simón Bolívar, which leads to Brussels Gare du Nord.
Saliva tests in schools: pilot project abandoned in favour of self-tests: A pilot project for coronavirus saliva testing of teaching staff will not be extended to the 2,700 schools in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. The region will instead opt for the self-testing strategy.
Schools will not reopen fully next week, education sector decides: From next week, schools will reopen under the same conditions as before the Easter holidays, meaning not all pupils will be able to physically attend class full-time yet, the education sector decided on Monday.
Court of Appeal to rule on the legality of Belgium’s Covid measures before 30 April: On Monday morning, the counsel for the Belgian State asked the Brussels Court of Appeal to overturn its decision ordering the State to lift “all coronavirus measures,” which was handed down on 31 March.
France attempts to curb ‘third wave’ with light lockdown: France began a two-week Spring break on Saturday, with a ban on travel between regions and a daily 7:00 PM curfew. The country hopes to curb the coronavirus epidemic with this light lockdown and with the acceleration of their vaccination program.
189 Dutch tourists travel to Greece for 8-day ‘test holiday’: A group of 189 Dutch tourists, chosen from about 25,000 applications, left the Netherlands to travel to the Greek island of Rhodes for a “test holiday” organised by travel organisation Sunweb and low-cost airline Transavia.
The Brussels Times
