With the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Belgium rising to eight today (2 March 2020 updated) the mayor of Woluwe-Saint-Lambert has unilaterally banned anyone who has recently traveled to China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, South Korea, Iran or northern Italy from accessing local schools and other municipal buildings such as care homes, libraries and the town hall.

The measure has been condemned as "totally disproportionate" by Belgium's federal health minister Maggie De Block and the move has prompted Brussels minister-president Rudi Vervoort to call a meeting of the region's 19 municipal mayors to discuss a more coordinated approach in the capital.

More on The Bulletin website.