LITTLE BELGIUM BUT WHY SO MANY CORONAVIRUS DEATHS?

The 'Manneken pis,' - the bronze statue of the little boy urinating protects himself from the coronavirus

Belgium, like other European countries, observed the lockdown rules, keeping everyone at home. The police were on duty, making sure there aren't any public gatherings, to avoid the spread of the disease, yet Belgium has registered 49,517 cases, while the disease has already claimed  7,765 lives. Why little Belgium?

Living in a country with a population of fewer than 12 million people, with one of the best medical facilities, great doctors and health personnel, in the world, I consider 7,765 deaths to be relatively high in such a small country known for it best beer, waffles and chocolate productions.

What went wrong? This is something hard to explain, however, recently, the press and Belgian citizens heavily attacked the government led by Sophie Wilmes, accusing her of inefficiency. 

According to the country's health authorities, the data in question rather than the inadequacy of the responses put in place would be conditioned by the "maximum transparency" with which the data were communicated since the beginning of the epidemic.

In recent days, numerous articles and reports have relayed the fact that Belgium would be one of the countries most affected by the pandemic. The figures for the number of reported deaths in such a small country is frightening, indeed.

Another important factor is that those tested positive for coronavirus are slightly more in Flanders in proportion than the 

Wallonia. According to virologist Jean Ruelle at Le Moustique; the territory of Belgium is small but very populated. 

"If we look at the distribution of infected people by municipality, we can see very clearly that there is a relationship with the population density. Density is an important factor of propagation," he stressed.

Businesses and schools still remain shut, despite the Easter school holiday came to an end on 19 April. The government has given assurance that businesses and schools will soon open but whether it will be possible or not, depends on current and future situations.