Belgium is scrapping a travel ban, but the Dutch must be quarantined if they stay longer than 48 hours. Next Sunday at midnight, Belgium will lift the ban on non-essential travel to and from the country. But, Prime Minister Aleksander De Croo warns, travelers coming from a 'red' zone and wanting to stay in Belgium for more than 48 hours still have to be in full quarantine for seven days with corona tests on the first and seventh days.
For the time being, this also applies to the Dutch. The Netherlands is almost completely dark red on the 'corona map' of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, which keeps track of corona figures in the EU with color codes. In any case, De Croo does not recommend traveling for fun.
The Belgian quarantine requirement will remain until the European 'corona certificate' is put into use, he said after consultations of the six governments in the country about relaxation of the corona measures. With the digital or paper certificate, the owner will soon be able to prove that he has been vaccinated, has recently been tested negative or has sufficient antibodies. Negotiations between Member States, the European Parliament and the European Commission on the certificate can potentially be concluded quickly so that it can facilitate travel within the EU as early as June.
Belgian roadmap to get out of the corona crisis
The schools in Belgium will also open on Monday, with partial remote lessons only for the highest grades. The following week, shops and contact professions such as hairdressers can resume their activities from April 26. Belgians are then allowed to meet up in the open air with ten instead of four people from outside their families.
A number of larger relaxations will follow in May. On Saturday, May 8, the curfew will be abolished after six months. Instead, there will be a ban on gathering between midnight and 5 a.m. "A vote of confidence to the public," said the prime minister.
He expects the Belgians to comply and that the police should not be busy sweeping streets and parks all night long. The terraces may also reopen on May 8, on Mother's Day in Belgium. According to De Croo, this date was chosen because the experts expect that 70 percent of the over-65s will be vaccinated and protected.
Events can then take place outside with a maximum of 50 people and the amusement parks will open.
