Brussels bans prostitution in bid to curb coronavirus infections

A man wearing a mask walks in Grand Place of Brussels, Belgium, where infections have risen over the past weeks.

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Brussels has banned prostitution in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus in the Belgian capital. 

The ban was agreed on Monday night and will stay in place for the foreseeable future. It applies to all street prostitution and the city’s “rendez-vous hotels”, where sex workers can take their clients. Offenders will face fines if they ignore the ban. 

Belgium lifted an earlier national coronavirus ban on sex work, which is legal in the country, in July after three months. 

The decision to reimpose the ban in Brussels follows a decision to enforce earlier closing times in cafes and bars in the city, which has the highest number of infections in Belgium. 

Not every district of Brussels will enforce the ban. The districts of  Sint-Joost-ten-Node and Schaerbeek, where window prostitution takes place, will not. 

The mayors of those areas may enforce earlier closing times for brothels instead, the Bruzz newspaper reported. 

Other European countries including Germany and the Netherlands also outlawed prostitution after the coronavirus pandemic hit in March. 

While sex work is close contact, campaigners warned such decision forced prostitution underground or cut off income for sex workers who did not qualify for any government support. 

The Sciensano public health institute said on Tuesday that the number of infections in Brussels was beginning to stabilise after weeks of cases increasing. 

An average of 309 new infections a day were recorded between September 19 and 25, which is the same amount as the previous week. That has led to hopes the peak of infections has been reached. 

The University of Liège has introduced weekly saliva based coronavirus tests as part of a campaign to encourage all staff and students to test themselves for the virus every week, the Brussels Times reported.