The Mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever has spoken up regarding the plight of the country's restaurant, bar, and hotel sectors (Horeca).
Following Prime Minister Alexander De Croo’s press conference on Monday, he communicated what he feared could become “a bloodbath if they also had to miss the Easter holidays.” “Dying economically is also a way of dying,” he added.
The consultation committee will have to carry out a difficult balancing act on Friday, De Wever said. In his view, however, it will be necessary to take into account the dire situation for those working in the horeca sector and the difficulties young people are going through.
Everything depends on the curve of the epidemic and the contagiousness of the British variant of the coronavirus, the mayor of Antwerp commented.
Choosing who can resume their activities - and when - is a difficult decision. "If the over 65's are vaccinated, logic dictates that society can reopen, maybe not all at the same time but the main sectors first. I am thinking of the sectors which, economically, are being drained and the [situation] for young people. They must again be able to follow studies and courses in full," he reiterated.
The Brussels Times
