Less than half of the people who filled out a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) after their return from abroad over the winter holidays were tested for coronavirus, according to Flemish Welfare Minister Wouter Beke.
Despite approximately 160,000 forms being filled out by travellers returning from a red zone abroad, only 37% of these people underwent a PCR test, Belga reports.
The percentage of people tested in Flanders was 44%, Beke said during a Flemish parliament plenary session in Brussels.
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In principle, anyone living in Belgium and returning from a stay abroad of more than 48 hours must fill out the PLF. Those who return to Belgium from a red zone after a stay of more than 48 hours also have to quarantine and undergo a PCR screening test on day 1 and 7.
The figures provided by Beke, however, show that this rule is not fully applied.
According to him, of those who have been tested after a stay abroad, 3.1% have received a positive result at the Belgian level. For Flanders, this was 2.5%.
The Brussels Times