A GP has reportedly infected at least 100 patients with COVID-19 after refusing to wear a mask while providing medical care in Belgium, local authorities claim.

Last week health authorities set up a testing centre in Kruisem — a municipality in East Flanders — in response to an outbreak of coronavirus cases.

On Saturday, local media reported that a large number of those cases had been traced back to the one doctor — a 68-year-old GP who had tested positive for the virus a few days earlier.

Het Laatste Nieuws, a Belgian newspaper, reported that some patients had complained to authorities that the GP had not taken the necessary precautions during their consults, such as not wearing a mask correctly, or even not wearing it at all.