Belgium expedites decision on COVID-19 measures to Wednesday

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium’s government is bringing forward a meeting to decide on tighter measures to control the spread of COVID-19 amid a rapid increase in infections and hospital admissions in the nation. The government said the meeting, which was originally set for Friday, was moved up to Wednesday so that any measure approved midweek could be operational by the weekend. Hospital admissions are shooting up 30% on a weekly basis, and the number of patients in intensive care have risen to more than 500, putting ever more strain on hospitals in the nation of 11 million. Authorities reimposed some pandemic restrictions three weeks ago after relaxing them just a few weeks earlier.