As the Consultative Committee decided to deactivate Belgium's coronavirus barometer from today, most of the last remaining Covid-19 restrictions in the country are being lifted. Here's what changes today.
Just over two years after the obligation was first introduced in May 2020, wearing a face mask will no longer be mandatory on public transport from today.
The requirement has not disappeared completely, however, as wearing a mask covering the mouth and nose remains obligatory in hospitals, at the doctor's office and in pharmacies.
In other healthcare environments such as in residential care homes or at the dentist, physiotherapist, psychologist or speech therapist, masks are no longer required for patients and healthcare providers, but they remain recommended.
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Additionally, the Flemish Government has decided that there is one exception to the lifting of the measure in residential care homes: healthcare providers carrying out care tasks for or near a resident must still wear a mask.
The Consultative Committee also decided to lift the ban on non-essential travel from outside the European Union, meaning that travellers coming from the United States, for example, will no longer be required to present an "essential reason" for travelling to Belgium.
The obligation to get tested on days 1 and 7 upon arrival in Belgium, the 10-day quarantine, as well as the requirement to present the Passenger Locator Form (PLF) and a valid vaccination, recovery or test certificate will also be dropped.
However, this does not apply to travellers coming from a country with a new Variant Of Concern (VOC).
