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Belgium expects clarity on EU travel rules within three weeks: At the European Council meeting on 25 May, it will be determined how the EU’s “Digital Green Certificate” can be used, and in which way it will ensure that travel can be made easier.
More than 9,000 phones hacked by fake Bpost text message: More than 9,000 recipients clicked a link in a fake text message pretending to be from Bpost. This automatically downloads a virus, known as FluBot, to the victim’s phone, which then takes over the operating system of the device, allowing the phishers access to personal information.
Coronalert app made ‘no contribution’ in fighting pandemic: The Belgian Coronalert application launched last year has made “no contribution” to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, said medical professor Jan De Maeseneer at a hearing in the Flemish parliament on Wednesday.
Wallonia launches open online portal for vaccination data: The coronavirus vaccine rollout in Wallonia can now be monitored on an open data portal created by the Walloon Agency for Quality of Life.
‘Have to keep variants out’: returning travellers still don’t get tested enough: The number of travellers who get tested after returning to Belgium from a red zone is still not high enough to effectively “keep coronavirus variants out of the country,” according to Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne.
Waiting time between AstraZeneca doses shortened to 8 weeks in Belgium: People in Belgium who receive AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine will get a second dose after just eight weeks instead of after 12, Belgium’s Health Ministers decided on Wednesday.
‘Everyone can get second shot by mid-August’ due to shortened AstraZeneca interval: The shortening of the waiting period between AstraZeneca’s doses means that the final phase of Belgium’s vaccination campaign can be accelerated and everyone should be fully vaccinated by mid-August, according to the Vaccination Taskforce.
Freedom based on ‘Covid Safe Ticket’ should be temporary, says Wilmès: The “Covid Safe Ticket” announced by the Belgian government on Tuesday to allow the organisation of mass events should remain a “temporary and exceptional” document, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs Sophie Wilmès.
Dutch retailer HEMA reports one of the most difficult years in its history: Dutch retailer HEMA ended 2020 with a loss of €215 million, it announced Tuesday, calling last year one of the most difficult years in its history.
The Brussels Times
