The Border

---

A man and His Dog are the only visitors in a normally bustling Grand Place in the centre of Brussels

Belgium, the worst affected country in The World when It Comes to the coronavirus mortality.

The judge, in contrast to the total number of deaths, is a measure of The Number of deaths in proportion to the size of the population.

President Donald Trump pointed to a chart recently, the display of Belgium at The Top and the US in seventh place, the as a result, The Number of deaths to the population.

He was suggesting the US handling of the pandemic was effective.

Belgium has a population of 11. 5 million. This means that 66 people have died in every 100,000, from Covid-19. In the United States, with a population of around 330 million euros, it's 19 in every 100,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University data.

But these figures are "incorrect comparisons" were "misused," says Prof Steven Van Gucht, a Belgian virologist and spokesman of the government.

"this is the difference between Public Health science and political motivation," he explains. "This is a purely inspired and shows how well you are doing, and it is wrong. We Are actually reporting in a more correct way. "

What is the difference to Belgium is?

Belgian officials say they are counting in a way that No Other country in The World currently: the count of death cases in hospitals and nursing homes, but also deaths in nursing homes, who are suspected, not confirmed, as Covid-19 cases.

According to Belgium, the latest official figures, from 7,703 deaths, 53% were in nursing homes.

approximately 16% of deaths in nursing homes have been positively tested for coronavirus. The rest suspected.

this means That More Than 3,500 deaths counted were caused by Covid-19, but not confirmed.

How do you Work It out?

"It is based on the judgment of the physician, in General, take into account whether the Corona Virus is in the same nursing home," says Prof Van Gucht.

"For example: if you have one or two cases, then the week after the 10 deaths in the same house is based on similar Symptoms . "

Getty ImagesThey are not in the test environment, tested, but it' s reasonable to assume that this proposed Covid-19 related prof Steven Van Gucht
virologist and crisis centre speakers

Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès recently, Belgium may be over-reporting the actual number of cases.

However, Prof Van Gucht, says that The Real number of dead could still be higher than they report, as he believes, that you might still be missing a few cases.

Is it counting down to?

Another factor is that a lot more people here, families put in nursing homes than elsewhere in Europe.

Only the Netherlands and Luxembourg have a higher rate of the care home occupancy, relative to their population.

Long-term care in Europe

the 65-year-olds in care per 1,000 persons

CountryLuxembourg82Netherlands75belgium*71Germany54France51UK44Poland12*Belgian data from 2012Source: OECD

the officials also explain that mistakes were made at the beginning: poor preparation-Links-care-home-staff without personal protective equipment (PPE). Allows The Virus to spread quickly with devastating effect.

will Now output all nursing home employees, who brought with masks and protective clothing, and nurses from hospitals and the military to help.

epidemiologists say they have homes, a "remarkable" observation in care that approximately 10% of the residents are asymptomatic carriers of The Virus and have built, a immunity. A small consolation, but important scientific value.

How long Belgium has been in lockdown?

Since the 18th of March, with all non-essential business is closed and, apart from emergency Workers , people were asked to stay At Home .

Shopping is limited to one person per family. You can leave The House for medical reasons, to walk The Dog , or for an hour of exercise with Immediate Family members or any other person, while maintaining social distancing of at least 1. 5m (5ft).

signage on the Belgian border with the Netherlands

Belgian police the enforcement of the block, with the drones in parks and fines for anyone breaking the rules of social distance.

control points were established at the borders with Luxembourg, France and the Netherlands, so that you only by cross-border commuters or people with an urgent reason to enter Belgium.

Some cyclists have been fined after a journey in the Netherlands, then is stopped by the Belgian police on The Way .

neighbors with different locks have

All non-food shops were closed, which led to a bizarre incident in the neighboring towns of Baarle Hertog and Baarle Nassau, where The Border runs through a bargain-Shop Zeemans.

is open, The Dutch half of The Shop , but in the Belgian half was taped, with customer, to not get in the situation to The Men 's clothing section.

A border that runs through it: the half of Baarle in Belgium, partly in the Netherlands

in contrast to Belgium, the policy of the Netherlands Prime Minister , Mark Rutte , described as a "smart lockdown", with florists, ironmongers, bakeries, clothing and toy stores, remain open.

There were fewer deaths in the Netherlands, despite a larger population. But, in contrast to Belgium, the Netherlands, Covid not one suspected-19 deaths in nursing homes.

I asked The Head of the Belgian Covid-19 task force, the Minister Philippe De Backer, if he thought that the Belgian confinement method was more effective than the more relaxed, Dutch and Swedish approaches.

He told me Sweden were known for following government advice, it was "a bit more difficult in a country like Belgium". However, he was impressed in General", as the Belgians did with The Crisis ".

What happens next?

in Belgium, the repeal of its block gradually in four phases. From Monday, the fabric shops are open, so people can buy material to make your own face masks. Masks are mandatory on Public Transport .

sports are allowed, even if no More Than Two People can play together.

All of the other shops open from Monday, 11. May. The schools start on 18 may, with a maximum of 10 students per class.

Cafés, restaurants and some tourist attractions open after 8. June, if there is no second increase in cases. Trips abroad can also be allowed, at the beginning of June.

Belgium is testing?

Tests for Covid-19 is done, 10-20,000 people per day, with priority for the use of force.

to stabilize, even Though The Number of people admitted to the hospital, it

The working group remains very high, has also done screening to discover all the than 210,000 residents and staff in nursing homes, that 10% of the people are infected. There are More Than 500 nursing homes, and about half had an outbreak.

antibody tests to detect whether the people had The Virus starts in mid-may.

Belgium tracking apps?

Not in the short term. Task force-Director, Philippe De Backer tells me it is "doable" at The Moment , so that you can focus on the elaborate system of tracing manually.

"When people are tested positive, it is a call Center enabled, and our staff questions that you have in contact with, and you will be contacted, and can self-isolate. "

Mr De Backer said that the use of the app requires to participate in at least 60% of The Nation , voluntarily and he does not believe that is realistic at The Moment .

"I've seen the reports in Austria, where it is around 9-10%. So that means that you have to do 90% of the tracking in a different way," he says.

As Belgium gradually its limitations, highlights the 2,000 so-called "corona detectives are hired by people who been in contact with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 patients.

What has been learned in Belgium?

Belgian researchers have begun to look at lessons that can be learned, including an analysis of why the Three Cities have the greatest concentration of cases: South Charleroi, Hasselt and Sint-Truiden in The East .

Belgium is moving to lift its lockdown gradually, keep in mind shift, to a second spike point later in the year

Signs that the local carnival with large gatherings of people in the March have contributed, along with areas where the second generation of the Italian population are high. In the case of Charleroi, experts examine whether the dissemination was in connection with questions of poverty and deprivation.

Belgian hospitals were largely able to cope with the epidemic, So Far , with a 42% utilization now, but in some hospitals in Brussels were overwhelmed, and had to move patients elsewhere.

As the confinement here is slowly ending, September is a concern for officials, as Prof Van Gucht makes it clear.

coronavirus lockdown measures, sweden, coronavirus pandemic, belgium

Source of news: bbc.com