Antwerp is introducing fresh coronavirus countermeasures, as Belgium and specifically Antwerp is experiencing the beginning of the feared second wave.

Mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA) has addressed the citizens of Antwerp via video message.

From Saturday 25 July:

• Restaurants, hotels, cafés (horeca) and bars that flout the coronavirus countermeasures will be closed. Period.
• Horeca, including bars, must register their customers and keep their contact information.
• Face coverings become mandatory on all markets and fairs as well as in all spaces accessible to the public at large. Think office buildings, gyms and horeca when moving around. So when you go to the loo, wear your face mask.
• It will no longer be permitted to share beverages or water pipes.
• Sales of alcoholic beverages are banned between the hours of midnight and 7AM.
• Gatherings of over ten people are banned unless they involve members of the same household.

Earlier this week, the federal government outlined a so-called script for cities and municipalities to fight corona locally.

With 500,000 inhabitants and a very diverse population, Antwerp is Belgium’s second and Flanders‘ largest metropolis.