Belgium's National Security Council is set to meet on Wednesday to go over the next stages of the plan to progressively take the country out of lockdown.
The next key stage in Belgium's deconfinement strategy begins 11 May, date in which the bulk of the country's commercial activities will be allowed to restart.
Belgian leaders have earmarked that date for the reopening of all shops, regardless of their sector of activity, in what Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès framed as an effort to give each business the "same chances for success."
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But, in an online statement, Wilmès said that such a move would "imperatively" depend and be carried out under a number of conditions, such as the pandemic's evolution in Belgium.
The final decision on whether to go forward with the reopening will reportedly be on the agenda on Wednesday, with federal regional and community leaders set to base their decision on the latest epidemiological data.
On Monday, spokespersons with Belgium's coronavirus task force spoke of positive progress, reporting less than 500 new confirmed cases and fewer than 100 hospital admissions for the second day in a row.
During the meeting, officials will also finetune the details of the conditions that businesses must meet in order to start receiving customers again, according to information confirmed by Wilmès' cabinet to La Dernière Heure.
Wilmès is expected to give a press conference in which she is expected to go over the rules for businesses' reopening, according to the outlet.
The prime minister's cabinet and her spokesperson did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
