The "coronavirus barometer" that Belgium announced at the end of September is almost ready, and will be launched on Friday.
The federal advisory body, Celeval, met on Monday to discuss the recommendations for the last time, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told Het Laatste Nieuws.
"It is now up to the politicians to move forward with those recommendations," said Celeval's President Tom Auwers. "In any case, the existing protocols were adhered to as closely as possible."
The barometer will work with colour codes which will stand for certain measures, according to Celeval. Depending on the figures, a gradual tightening or relaxing of the measures in force will be possible.
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The colour-coded system is expected to grade the epidemiological situation at a national, provincial and regional level, making it possible to counter the spread of the virus in a more targeted way.
"The Covid Commissioner Pedro Facon is in the process of finalising the barometer, which should form the basis on which all measures will be taken," De Croo's spokesperson Tom Meulenbergs said.
It is not yet clear which thresholds the colours will be linked to, and what exactly the different codes will mean for areas such as culture, sport, hospitality and events.
The barometer has been in the weeks for several weeks, but De Croo told VTM News in early October that he would not launch the tool before it was "perfect."
"Too often, in the past, things have been announced that were not clear. I want to avoid that,” he added. "Everyone must understand what is expected of them. It will become clear what you have to do if the figures move in the right direction or in the wrong direction."
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
