Stay in your room and do odd jobs, the Security Council in Belgium decided. The measures to curb the coronavirus will be extended until May 3, but the garden centers and do-it-yourself shops will be allowed to open. All mass events until the end of August are prohibited.

Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès said this means that there will be no events or festivals this summer. Belgium is a small country with the world's largest festivals within its borders. No Rock Werchter of Pukkelpop, the counterpart of the Dutch Lowlands.

No planning for the Ghent Festivities, it has been since the First World War that the Ghent Festivities did not take place, so the news hits Ghent in the heart. The City now supports the organizers to help them bridge 2020. 

A paradise for rock and metal lovers Graspop and the fairytale experience at Tomorrowland will not take place, and no fun on the market square of Tienen during Suikerrock.

The Prime Minister says that schools, possible trips and the youth movement will be decided later. There is a new National Security Council next week. In any case, it is "our goal" to organize a gradual relaxation of the measures from the beginning of May, it sounds. 

“Wearing face masks will certainly play an important role in that relaxation. Fabric masks will be recommended in situations where a safe distance cannot be kept, ”said Sophie Wilmès.

The garden centers and do-it-yourself shops are allowed to open, under the same conditions as the shops that are already open. In addition, residents of residential care centers and institutions for people with a disability may now visit one and the same person, indicated beforehand, who has not had any symptoms for two weeks.

Also read: The Netherlands does not want to close national borders with Belgium