Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke warned that the Covid-19 situation in the country’s capital, Brussels was “close to a tsunami” due to the spike in the number of new confirmed cases.

In a TV interview on Monday, Vandenbroucke warned “the health situation in Wallonia and in Brussels is the worst and the most dangerous in the whole of Europe”, CNN reported on Tuesday.

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Belgium, one of the worst-hit country during the first wave of pandemic in Europe, has so far reported 230,480 coronavirus cases and 10,443 deaths.

The Health Minister further said that the pandemic “is no one’s fault, but improving the situation is everyone’s duty”, urging the people of the country to follow coronavirus-induced measures and protect themselves against the virus.

Starting from Monday, under new government restrictions designed to tackle the fresh outbreak, residents will only be allowed to see one other person from outside their household and should work from home if possible, the BBC reported.

A curfew will be in place from midnight until 5 a.m. for the next month and alcohol sales has been banned from 8 p.m.

Defending the new measures, Vandenbroucke said that government “has only one message to the public: protect yourself, protect your loved ones, so as not to be contaminated”.

The Health Minister’s remarks come as numbers of Covid-19 cases were surging across the continent, prompting new restrictions in several countries, the BBC reported.

On Sunday, Italy announced new restrictions after recording its highest daily tally, while nine major French cities have been placed under curfew.

The Czech Republic, which has the highest infection rate on the continent, is considering a full national lockdown, while Republic of Ireland will move into the highest level of coronavirus restrictions from midnight on Wednesday for six weeks.