The British variant continues to worry scientists. Even though the situation stabilizes in Belgium with the average number of contaminations falling again, healthcare professionals advocate increased caution in the face of this new enemy. More contagious, the British variant is spreading rapidly in our country. His presence has already resulted in the closure of three schools and the outbreak of new outbreaks . Yves Van Laethem confided on Monday to La DH that the new strain was already circulating too much in Belgium . “Countering a variant that adapts better than the previous one is impossible, we have to expect this new variant to take the place of the other”, he explained to us. For his part, Dirk Devroey, professor of general medicine (VUB), also sounded the alarm, speaking of a real time bomb for the flat-country. This Tuesday, January 19, Pierre Van Damme went even further. According to the epidemiologist from UAntwerpen, it must be considered that Belgium is facing a second epidemic. “We now have two epidemics, it is time to wake up,” he insisted to our colleagues from The Gazet van Antwerp .
Should we therefore consider taking additional measures? The expert is not convinced of this. Indeed, Pierre Van Damme felt that the current rules could suffice, but that they should be more respected by the population. “The real problem is here,” he added.
A lockdown should have been enacted in December
The health professional, however, expressed his wish to see non-essential travel banned for a certain period “to give vaccination a chance”. “We must control more, force to be tested and think about the procedure for the carnival holidays”, continued the expert.