(14 Oct 2020) The Belgian Red Cross has set up COVID-19 testing centres to help to meet the demand for testing as coronavirus cases rise in Brussels and across the country.
Belgium's capital has been reporting more than 800 virus infections a day and last week moved to close bars and cafes for at least a month.
Red Cross spokesperson Gilles De Schepper said time slots for tests were full up to two or three days in advance.
"In a near future we hope to open our doors to much more people and maybe reach 1,000 tests per day," he said.
Students Emma Van Demaele and Coleen Vuylsteke both took the nasal swab COVID-19 tests after they were notified by their school that a classmate tested positive.
"We just received the news that since yesterday our school is code red, so all our classes are online until the end of December, until Christmas," said Vuylsteke after her test.
University students are a ripe population for the fast spreading coronavirus.
Van Demaele believes government authorities should do more than just close the bars in Brussels for one month.
"I think it's drastic, but I think it's necessary to go back to a lockdown like in the beginning," Van Demaele said.
Since the start of the pandemic, more than 165,000 people have been infected with the virus in Belgium, which has a population of around 11.5 million people.
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