Belgium’s Consultative Committee has reportedly decided that face masks will no longer be required in the hospitality sector and shops and that nightclubs can reopen from 1 October, according to reports in local media.
Clients and staff are said to no longer need to wear a face mask in the hospitality sector and in shops, reports Het Laatste Nieuws, citing confirmation from several sources.
It reportedly concerns a general federal rule, from which the different regions may deviate if they want to. While Flanders already made it clear it wanted to end the obligation, the Brussels-Capital Region and Wallonia may decide to keep the measure for now.
In public transport and in stations, in care institutions, and in both medical and non-medical contact professions such as hairdressers, the face mask is said to remain compulsory.
Additionally, nightclubs and discos would reportedly be allowed to reopen from Friday 1 October, but only if they use the Covid Safe Ticket (CST), reports VRT, citing several government sources.
That way, visitors must be able to prove that are fully vaccinated, have recently tested negative or have recovered from a Covid-19 infection in the past six months.
However, the Consultative Committee is still ongoing, and these reports remain unconfirmed until/unless they are announced by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo at a press conference later today. The timing is yet to be announced.
More information about the topics on the table of the Consultative Committee can be found here.
