A centralising body will be created in the Walloon province of Hainaut to step up support for nursing homes hit hard by the new coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis, provincial authorities said on Friday.
The creation of the new body, announced on a conference of Hainaut’s mayors, is spearheaded by Walloon Finance Minister Jean-Luc Crucke, the mayor of Tournai Paul-Olivier Delannois and the commander of the Picardy Wallonia relief services.
In addition to improving support for nursing homes, the new body will work “close to the reality on the ground” to strengthen population buy-in, improve communication and reinforce human support where necessary.
Covid-19 infections spiked in almost all municipalities in Hainaut this month, cresting at 2,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, although they later dropped below the 2% bar in about a dozen communes.
The peak of 1,408 persons hospitalised for Covid-19, recorded on 4 November, is 84% higher than the high of 764 hospitalisations reached on 11 April at the height of the first wave of the epidemic.
For about one week now, intensive care units in Hainaut have been swamped, operating at 105% of capacity.
Provincial authorities also announced that 59 members of the military now work daily to support hospitals and nursing homes there.
The Brussels Times
