City centres busy with pre-lockdown shoppers
There was criticism as shopping areas saw big crowds on Saturday and Sunday, before non-essential shops closed under new coronavirus restrictions
‘This will lead to new infections’
“I do not think this is a good idea,” said Cathy Berx. “I even find it a bit cynical and incomprehensible. Today is All Saints’ Day, the day we honour the dead. It’s strange to organise a shopping Sunday in the middle of a pandemic and when the virus is circulating very strongly. If you go shopping with lots of people, you can be sure this will lead to new infections.”
Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever said it had been too late to cancel the Sunday shopping event once images of the city’s streets packed with shoppers emerged on Saturday. He told VRT that he and Berx had a good relationship but that her comments had been “hurtful”.
Essential stores only
Elsewhere there were long queues outside shops such as Primark and Ikea, which will be shut for at least one month under the latest nationwide coronavirus protection measures. From Monday morning, only shops considered essential may remain open, though the restrictions are less strict than during the lockdown in spring. The permitted shops are:
- food shops – including supermarkets and convenience stores, but also more specialised traders such as cheesemongers and butchers,
- pet food stores,
- pharmacies,
- newsagents, bookshops and stationery stores,
- petrol stations and suppliers of fuel for heating,
- telecoms shops (by appointment only), but not stores selling only phone accessories,
- shops selling medical devices, for emergency appointments and repairs only,
- DIY and building supplies stores,
- garden centres, florists and nurseries,
- shops selling fabrics and haberdashery items,
- laundrettes,
- car mechanics and bicycle shops, for maintenance and repairs only,
- wholesalers whose transactions are purely business-to-business.
All other stores must close for six weeks, until 13 December, but can still sell online for collection in-store. The measure will be reassessed on 1 December, based on the latest figures, to see whether a relaxation is possible or an extension is necessary.
There are also new limits on what supermarkets and hypermarkets are allowed to sell. Several aisles in bigger stores must be closed off, as they may not sell products that would ordinarily be sold in stores that have had to close.
Supermarkets cannot sell toys, kitchen utensils, clothing and shoes, furniture, mobile heaters, decorative items, multimedia and electronics, phone accessories, jewellery and sports goods. These items may still be ordered online. Markets may continue, but only stalls selling essential items may operate.
‘See you in a week or two’
Meanwhile, a team of nurses in Sint-Niklaas, Antwerp province, shared a photo on Facebook criticising people who went shopping this weekend: “Enjoy your Sunday shopping,” they said. “See you in a week or two, when you can tell us what you bought.”
Nurse Frauke De Mol and her colleagues (pictured) normally work in an abdominal surgery department, but it has since been turned into a Covid ward because of the number of Covid-19 patients admitted to the hospital.
Photo: Shoppers queuing in Antwerp’s Meir shopping street on Sunday
© Belga/Nicolas Maeterlinck
