Belgium’s representations in China have reopened their doors to the public, the Belgian Foreign Office confirmed on Monday.
Almost all local employees of the Embassy in Beijing and consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhu are back at work, although some staff in Beijing were still off the job due to the closure of the visa centres, which are scheduled to remain shut until 17 February.
On Friday 31 January, the Foreign Office confirmed that the three diplomatic offices were closed to the public until 10 February in keeping with measures taken by the Chinese authorities to curb the spread of the Coronavirus.
Chinese workers appeared to have returned to their jobs on Monday in an atmosphere turned upside down by the virus, which has claimed over 900 lives thus far.
Two and a half weeks after the Chinese New Year, the country is still largely paralysed by fear of viral pneumonia and, on Sunday the Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned that the global epidemic might, perhaps, be just the “tip of the iceberg”.
The Brussels Times
