Antwerp battles to control the coronavirus

The province of Antwerp has qualified as a "high-risk area" since August 5, according to Germany's public health authority, the Robert Koch Institute. This means that the province, which surrounds the port city of the same name on the River Scheldt, now has — in the view of the German Foreign Ministry — the same coronavirus infection status as the United States, Brazil, Luxembourg or northern Spain.

From Saturday, travelers returning from those "high-risk areas" must undergo a coronavirus test upon entering Germany. The country's health minister, Jens Spahn, said in Berlin that this applied to tourists but not to commuters or those who are traveling for an important reason.

A mandatory coronavirus test for people coming from Antwerp? "That did take me by surprise," said Hanne Lemmens, a resident of the city. "Are we doing as badly as the US? Perhaps it's all a bit exaggerated, but then I'm no doctor," she added. In any case, Lemmens has no intention of traveling to Germany in the near future: "We'll remain in Antwerp at this point," said Lemmens, a freelancer who works from home in the port city.

Testing in 'COVID-19 Village'

The city of Antwerp has set up a a test center made up of white tents, portable cabins and red crowd control barriers in an industrial area of the Borgerhout district. It is nicknamed the "COVID-19 village" by the health authority. The center has daily coronavirus testing capacities for 600 people from Antwerp and four neighboring municipalities. The offer is directed primarily at people who are returning to Belgium from their holidays.

By conducting additional tests, Antwerp's mayor, Bart De Wever, wants to determine the actual coronavirus infection rate among the population. De Wever, who is a member of the Flemish nationalist party New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), had alleged that Brussels and other municipalities in Belgium had relatively low infection figures because they weren't testing enough.

A fresh, negative test conducted in Antwerp's "COVID-19 village" is accepted as a replacement for the newly introduced mandatory test at the German border. It is, however, uncertain how compliance with mandatory testing is to be monitored. There are no plans to reintroduce border controls on roads connecting Germany and Belgium — at least, according to Germany's Federal Police.

More infections, but normal mortality rate

Hanne Lemmens is allowed to travel freely within Belgium and the neighboring Netherlands. Antwerp is not sealed off or under lockdown. The central government in Brussels does, however, recommend avoiding non-essential travel to Antwerp.

For a number of weeks, infection figures have been on the rise again in Belgium, with the country reporting some 500 new cases per day. And the epicenter is Antwerp, where an average of 150 people per day contract the coronavirus, according to Sciensano, Belgium's public health authority. This means Antwerp exceeds the weekly limit of 50 new cases per 100,000 residents that Germany's Robert Koch Institute has defined as the critical threshold.

Sciensano points out that, at this point, it is primarily people under 40 who are contracting the virus and that the number of infected people who need treatment in hospital is not increasing significantly. Likewise, the number of deaths as a result of COVID-19 has not seen any uptick. Authorities report that the excess mortality rate — the number of additional deaths attributable to a specific disease, as opposed to "normal" deaths — has remained at a normal, low level.

Stricter measures in Antwerp

In a bid to stem this suspected second wave of coronavirus infections before it can gain too much momentum, Belgium reintroduced social contact restrictions nationwide at the end of July. People are allowed to meet up privately with a maximum of five people from outside their own household, and these must always be the same people. Previously, the maximum for such a "social bubble" was 15 people. Meetings in restaurants are allowed as long as the number of participants does not exceed 10. There are no contact restrictions at work. However, people are encouraged to work from home if possible.

In the city of Antwerp, Mayor De Wever has introduced additional measures. There is a curfew in place from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Masks are mandatory on the streets and in public buildings. Sharing drinks and hookah pipes is not allowed — some coronavirus outbreaks in Antwerp were traced back to hookah bars and a wedding. Via Twitter, De Wever repeatedly appeals to people's public-spiritedness and and sense of responsibility. According to the mayor, nine bars and restaurants have already had to be closed due to non-compliance with the new rules.

Widespread adherence

Antwerp resident Hanne Lemmens has observed that, by and large, her fellow citizens are adhering to the new regulations: "You put on your mask as soon as you leave your home. But that doesn't keep us from shopping, or going out with friends."

After all, the measures will only be in force temporarily, she says – until September. "We're just giving it a try, and we'll see if it does any good." Lemmens, the mother of two little children, is at a loss to explain why Antwerp is said to have such high infection numbers, as opposed to other Belgian regions. "Belgian politics plays a role as well. Regions and mayors are flexing their muscles," she says. "It gave me a surprise to hear that Antwerp is meant to be particularly bad."