The Group of Experts for an Exit Strategy (GEES) do not rule out the possibility of implementing targeted coronavirus containment measures at a municipal level, their president Erika Vlieghe told Knack magazine.
“Depending on the epidemiological situation, local measures must be considered,” Vlieghe said.
This doesn’t necessarily imply that municipalities would be cut off from the world. “Rather, it would mean temporarily not allowing certain events to take place in a municipality or not allowing certain activities," explained the expert.
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In their advice to the government on 3 June, the GEES envisaged what they called a control tower, responsible for monitoring coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreaks in the country in real time.
Technical preparations are underway, according to Flemish Minister for Domestic Administration Bart Somers, referring to “the deployment of mobile teams that we can deploy in the event of local outbreaks.”
A more local approach would reassure policy makers who fear the economic impact of a new nationwide lockdown, according to Knack. Politicians including Interior Minister Pieter De Crem and N-VA chairman Bart De Wever had already said they wanted to avoid repeating that scenario at all costs, the magazine pointed out.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
