Belgium's new virus measures include night curfew

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

The measures are set to enter force from Monday.

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

The 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 the European countries hardest hit by the disease.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The impact of the closures will be reviewed in two weeks.

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