The weekly update of Belgium's coronavirus travel advice will now be issued mid-week in order to give people more space to organise potential last-minute weekend returns.
Foreign Affairs Minister Philippe Goffin announced the changes on Saturday, following calls from the industry for authorities to give more leeway to travellers navigating shifting country situations.
The travel guidelines, posted online by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, will now be updated on Wednesday rather than Friday, he said.
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"In a context that is already complicated for many, it is essential to give more leeway," Goffin said announcing the changes on Facebook.
The ministry has been posting per-country travel advice since June, when the EU moved to reopen the internal borders of the Schengen+ area.
The guidelines are aimed at informing travellers arriving in the country whether they need to get tested and to quarantine, depending on where they are flying back from.
Ahead of Goffin's announcement, the ministry's decision last week to list Paris as a high-risk, or red travel zone, prompted a wave of rushed last-minute returns to Belgium from the French capital, which piled the pressure on transport companies.
The adjustment, Goffin said, will provide stability to returning travellers as the country readies for the return to school this week and as it gears-up for the relaunch of work activities following the lockdown slump.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
