Contact Us

Nursing homes in Belgium violate human rights amid COVID-19 pandemic - rights group

Belgian authorities “abandoned” thousands of elderly people who died in nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic and did not seek hospital treatment for many who were infected, violating their human rights, Amnesty International said in an investigation published Monday.

Anadolu Agency WORLD
Published November 16,2020
Subscribe
(AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Basic human rights of elderly people in care homes in Belgium have been violated during the coronavirus pandemic, a rights group said in a report.

According to an Amnesty International report on nursing homes in Belgium, the country's authorities "abandoned" elderly people in nursing homes and they died "early" due to lack of sufficient health care.

The report -- prepared through interviews with people in nursing homes, employees, and managers in March-October -- said 61% of those who died in this period in the country were those who stayed in nursing homes.

In Belgium, with a population of 11.4 million, 535,000 cases and more than 14,000 deaths have been recorded since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the report, authorities delayed taking measures to protect elderly people who are staying in nursing homes.

The report also argued that until August, the test capacity was insufficient for employees in nursing homes, who served without adequate protective equipment for a long time.