Belgium's new virus measures include night curfew

Faced with a resurgence of coronavirus cases, Belgian government on Friday anunced new restrictions to curb spread of disease, including a night-time curfew and closure of cafes, bars and restaurants for a month.

measures are set to enter force from Monday.

curfew will be enforced from midnight until 5 a.m., and alcohol sales will be banned after 8 p.m.

number of people that Belgians should see socially outside family members will be reduced to a maximum of just one.

People have been ordered to work from home wherever possible.

Belgium, which has a population of around 11.5 million, is one of European countries hardest hit by disease.

Almost 6,000 new cases were recorded each day on aver over last week.

In all, about 192,000 people have contracted disease and 10,327 have died.

"Today, nearly 2,000 people were hospitalized with COVID, re are 327 in intensive care in our hospitals (and) 35 people died," Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told reporters in Brussels as he unveiled new restrictions.

" figures that we see today are significantly higher than ones that what we saw back in March and April when we took very restrictive measures."

country's finance and employment ministries will launch a support plan to help keep restaurants and cafes afloat.

y've been struggling to get back on ir feet in recent months due to impact of virus. Earlier this month, bars and cafes in capital Brussels were ordered to close early.

impact of closures will be reviewed in two weeks.

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