Belgian side of Zeeman store in Baarle-Nassau closed off for Dutch shoppers
Onno (58) from Baarle-Nassau wanted to get some shirts for himself at the local Zeeman chain early Tuesday morning, but when he wanted to go the men's section he was greeted by the famous red-and-white "do not pass" tape.
The store's personnel told him that the men's section is located inside Belgium, while the rest of the store is located inside the Netherlands. Belgium has shut down all non-essential goods stores due to the #CoronaVirus outbreak, meaning the section of the Zeeman store that was located in Belgium had to be made inaccessible to the shopping public.
Baarle-Nassau is the site of a complicated borderline between Belgium and Netherlands, with numerous exclaves.
Zeeman got a request to close down from Belgium, but is actually designated as a Dutch store. Both Dutch and Flemish authorities agreed with this compromise of closing off half the store, and selling essentials only on "the Dutch side".
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