Belgium is a single dark red spot on the map of the EU infection control authority. The number of reported corona infections in the past two weeks was 139 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
In the European Union the country belongs to the top group; only Spain, the Czech Republic, France, Luxembourg and Malta have even higher values. But while protective measures are being ramped up again in many countries, Belgium, with its 11.5 million inhabitants,
is taking an unusual path: it is easing the restrictions again. "Our country is moving from crisis management to risk management," said incumbent Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès after a meeting of the National Security Council.
“We are learning to live with the risk of the coronavirus in our society.” Many Belgians were relieved, but experts warned that the government was sending the wrong signal. Earlier than the neighboring countries, Belgium issued new regulations in the summer to stop the virus.
In July, the numbers in Antwerp literally exploded, where a night curfew was imposed. Restaurants and bars had to close at 11 p.m. And in early August in Brussels. All parts of the city are now colored dark red.
Nevertheless, the mask requirement will be lifted on October 1st. The mayors should then only enforce them in densely populated areas. It had already started at the end of July.
At that time the situation became so confusing - the capital region consists of 19 independent municipalities - that nobody knew where to wear a mask and where not. That could be repeated now.
Belgians will be freed from the unloved “bubble” in which they were supposed to move up to now: a household was only allowed to have close contact with five people per month. The new rule is: Each person can have five close contacts, i.e. twenty in a family of four.
The requirements for weddings are also being relaxed. In future, an unlimited number of guests can be invited as long as they sit at tables of ten that are one and a half meters apart. This is also the case in restaurants and cafes.
The quarantine requirements are also being relaxed. Previously, two weeks were mandatory if someone had contact with a person who tested positive. In the future, one week will be sufficient - provided that the test result is negative at the end of the week.
One of the first beneficiaries is likely to be EU Council President Charles Michel, who went into quarantine on Tuesday and wants to catch up on the European Council that has been postponed next week.
A Tornado has been reported in parts of Brebes Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. Reports indicate that at least 125 people have been affected, at least 6 people have been displaced and at least 23 houses have been damaged, at least 2 destroyed.
Impacted areas include: Kec. Paguyangan : Ds. Kedung Oleng.
Floods have been reported in parts of Balangan Regency, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Reports indicate that at least 5,545 people have been affected and at least 1,723 houses have been damaged. Impacted areas include: Kec. Tebing Tinggi, Kec. Halong and Kec. Awayan.
Mount Anak Krakatau erupted on Monday, April 18 2022, at 07:14 WIB with the height of the ash column observed ± 700 m above the peak (± 857 m above sea level). The ash column is observed to be black with thick intensity towards the southwest.
This eruption was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 60 mm and a duration of 97 seconds.
Mount Anak Krakatau erupted on Monday, April 18 2022, at 11:04 WIB with the height of the ash column observed ± 700 m above the peak (± 857 m above sea level). The ash column is observed to be gray in color with thick intensity towards the southwest.
A man who has not yet been clearly identified but surrived was run over several times by suburban trains in a serious accident at Hamburg-Bergedorf station. According to a spokesperson for the federal police, the man, who was presumably intoxicated,
ran towards the end of the platform at 0.15 a.m. on Saturday night, fell into the tracks and was then hit by a train. However, the man with life-threatening injuries was not noticed until three hours later at around 3.15 am. By then,
he had already been run over by four other suburban trains, according to the information. The man was taken to hospital where doctors were fighting for his life. According to a report in the "Hamburger Abendblatt", the man was still responsive when he was rescued from the tracks.
Muqtada al-Sadr, the head of the Sadrist movement, demanded on Saturday that the Iraqi government summon the Swedish ambassador Lars Ronnås to Baghdad to protest the "desecration of the Muslim holy book, the Quran".
He wrote in a statment earlyer today "in the month of the Quran, the Quran is torched in a European country where Muslims are many." "If you do not believe in God and his laws, you do not have the right to burn any book."
Rasmus Paludan, the 🇩🇰 #Danish leader of the far-right Stram Kurs party burned a copy of the Quran in a bigger Muslim area of Sweden, backed by the police, he went to an open public space in southern Linkoping and burnt the Quran, ignoring the protests of bystanders.
Hundreds of cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin have been reported in children in the 🇬🇧 #UnitedKingdom, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Laboratory testing have ruled out hepatitis viruses A, B, C, E, and D,
according to the WHO in Geneva on Friday. The young patients had been shown to have a corona infection, adenoviruses, or both in numerous situations. However, it is unclear whether this is the root of the problem.
The WHO has urged all countries to be on the lookout for suspected cases. Three further cases, including one involving a 13-year-old child, have been recorded in 🇪🇸 #Spain. In 🇮🇪 #Ireland, a few suspected cases had been recorded, but not all of them had been confirmed.
A radio station in the U.S. metropolis of Seattle has found a way to permanently prevent listeners from changing the station.
Since the end of January, the "HD Radios" in an unknown number of Mazda brand vehicles have refused to play any station other than the news station KUOW-FM.
Apart from that, the infotainment can't do anything at all, among others the navigation system, the display of the time and the rear view camera don't work anymore.