The new coronavirus (Covid-19) is - of course - at the top of the agenda across the world, and Belgium is no different. As numbers continue to climb, and new figures emerge, here's the latest info from around the country to get you up to speed, and some non-coronavirus news too.
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1. Coronavirus: Belgium reaches 267 confirmed cases
28 new people have tested positive for the new coronavirus (Covid-19), confirmed the FPS Public Health on Tuesday. On 9 March, the network of the National Reference Laboratory tested 443 samples at the KU Leuven, of which 28 tested positive for the virus. Read more.
2. Coronavirus: Belgium enters ‘enhanced Phase 2’
While Belgium remains in 'Phase 2' Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès has now said that the phase will be "enhanced" as the country continues to deal with the new coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. Read more.
3. ‘Coronavirus patient mistakenly reported dead is in ‘worrying’ state
A 74-year-old coronavirus patient in Brussels who was mistakenly reported as dead by media on Monday is actually still in the hospital, albeit in a “worrying” state. Read more.
4. Footage of man smearing saliva on Brussels metro goes viral
Several videos of a man with a mouth mask spreading saliva on a support pole on a Brussels metro have gone viral throughout the country, prompting a dramatic response from transport company STIB. Read more.
5. Coronavirus: in numbers
Since the appearance of the new coronavirus last December, 114,151 cases of infection have been recorded in 105 countries and territories, causing the death of 4,012 people, according to a report compiled on Tuesday morning. Read more.
In Other News
6. Brussels lawyers call out Belgian justice system with viral anti-rape anthem
Dozens of female lawyers in Brussels gathered on Monday to perform a Chilean anti-rape anthem to protest the pervasiveness of sexism in the Belgian justice system. Blindfolded and in their court robes, the lawyers gathered in a protest which came after thousands marched through the city to mark International Women’s Day. Read more.
7. Brussels firefighters injured after seizing rare African wild cat
Two Brussels firefighters were injured after they seized an African wildcat which was being illegally kept by residents in Schaerbeek. Police were carrying a house search in the northern Brussels municipality as part of a separate investigation when they came across the serval, a rare wild cat native to Africa. Read more.
Jules Johnston
The Brussels Times
