⁍ Brussels is second only to Madrid among the European Union’s 27 capital cities.

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⁍ 502 coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks.

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⁍ Belgium hosts European Union institutions and the headquarters of the NATO military alliance.

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– bars and cafes in Brussels will be forced to close for a month because of the H1N1 virus—even if they only sell coffee or tea. The move comes after the Belgian capital surpassed Paris in terms of infections per inhabitant, Reuters reports. Brussels is second only to Madrid among the European Union’s 27 capital cities with 502 cases per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks. “Serving alcohol is not the criteria here,” said the premier of the Brussels region. In addition to the closure of bars and cafes, the Belgian government has also banned people from drinking alcohol outside and limits social groups to no more than four people invited inside a home, seated at a single cafe table, or gathered outside. Party venues, where health authorities said many infections occurred, will also have to shut down. No spectators will be allowed in sports centers to watch amateur sport. Experts attribute the second wave of the pandemic in Belgium, like elsewhere in Europe, in part to people—especially the young—tired of months of social distancing and other restrictions maintained to curb the spread of the virus. Belgium hosts European Union institutions and the headquarters of the NATO military alliance. The average daily number of new infections over a week passed 2,400 on Wednesday. Hospital admissions are also rising again, as are deaths from the virus in Belgium.