There are already approximately 80 potential reception places for migrants in Belgian hospitals available. The Federal Public Health Service announced this today.
Last month, Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) asked Belgian hospitals if they could temporarily open vacant buildings to asylum seekers.
Various hospitals have now responded to that survey. In total, there are approximately 80 places available, Vandenbroucke’s cabinet said. “But whether effective shelter is also possible there and how this will be organized is now being examined by State Secretary for Asylum Nicole De Moor (CD&V),” it said. In concrete terms, this concerns buildings in which no patients reside.
LOOK. Vandenbroucke announced his plan last month to use hospitals to receive asylum seekers
The government emphasizes that the additional shelter places will not lead to an additional workload. “The healthcare staff is absolutely not involved in the care,” it sounds. “We strive for a stricter return policy, but we do not want people to have to sleep on the street.”
The exact locations are not known for the time being, but Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA) responded to ‘Radio 1’ that he opposes possible reception in the vacant Stuivenberg hospital. According to De Wever, the hospital is “completely run-down” and the intention is to demolish and redevelop the building.
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Federal government wants to use hospitals to receive asylum seekers (+)
▶ “It has never been so serious for so long.” Why does the asylum crisis in our country seem hopeless? (+)
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