Charleroi is making face masks compulsory on its entire territory from Saturday, the city announced on Wednesday.
Masks are currently only compulsory in Charleroi’s town centre, shopping streets and playgrounds, as a means to curb the spread of the new coronavirus (Covid-19).
“The figures for the last few weeks show a rebound of the Covid-19 outbreak. New measures were necessary,” the city announced.
Related News
- Hundreds of Belgian municipalities pass the new-case alarm threshold
- Antwerp's stricter measures will be template for other affected zones in Belgium
Children under 12 years old are exempt of the rule, and it does not apply in the context of one’s social bubble, nor to people who are seated and practising social distancing.
People practising sports or travelling by bicycle are also allowed not to wear a face mask.
The city also announced that masks were still available in its five so-called ‘maisons citoyennes’ or town halls.
As of Thursday, Charleroi counted 36 coronavirus cases in the last seven days, which translates to an incidence of 18 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, according to Sciensano's municipality monitoring tool, bringing the city close to the alert threshold of 20 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times