Nationally, the trend seems more favorable. According to Sciensano, the flu epidemic appears to have reached a plateau, suggesting that the peak may be behind us on a national level. Flu transmission appears to be slowing in nursing homes and the situation is stabilizing in hospitals. However, Brussels stands out from the rest of Belgium by not having yet taken this step. “We can say that we are not yet at the peak of the epidemic in Brussels, even if the figures are based on a small sample.”estimates Vivalis, the administration of health and assistance to people in the Brussels region.
“We remain attentive”
In response to this situation, the Brussels Region is not planning a mass distribution of masks, unlike other cities, such as Braine-l’Alleud in Walloon Brabant, which announced this Wednesday that it was launching a distribution of masks to large scale for its residents. According to the office of Brussels Minister of Health, Alain Maron, health recommendations remain unchanged and no large-scale measures within the Brussels region, such as the distribution of masks, are planned for the moment. “We obviously remain attentive to the evolution of this flu epidemic.”
Despite these few positive signs, the Brussels authorities continue to monitor the situation closely. They are awaiting the next recommendations from the Risk Management Group (RMG), which defines the seriousness of the situation, to determine the measures to take. Since this RMG has maintained the situation at the organ level, the measures remain identical and are limited only to recommendations for the population. Masks are therefore recommended in public transport, public spaces and in hospitals, but Brussels residents must go to a pharmacy to buy their own masks.
As a reminder, around 53% of people over 65 were vaccinated against the flu in the Brussels region this winter. Although this rate is slightly increasing compared to 2023, it remains far from the expected standards, since the vaccination coverage objective was 75%.
