Belgian virologist, Marc Van Ranst, a key advisor to the government on the handling of the coronavirus crisis, believes travelling will be possible this summer.
Asked at RTL’s, “C’est pas dimance tous les jours” programme on Sunday on the deconfinement timeline, Van Ranst was very cautious about setting a specific date for the reopening of the hospitality industry.
“I don’t think we can fix a date, that’s dangerous. We can’t say that the figures will be good by 1 May. It’s possible, but not more than that.”
However, as Belgium gets further ahead with the vaccine rollout, the virologist was more optimistic of the possibility to go on holiday abroad this Summer with the use of so-called coronavirus vaccine certificates. “I think we will be able to travel this summer,” Van Ranst confirmed.
Commenting on the rising infection rates and reinstated measures he said that "we will not see an exponential growth,” thanks to the vaccine rollout but called for people to follow the government's guidelines. “We have to be very careful, because going from 5,000 to 20,000 hospitalisations can happen in only a few weeks,” he warned.
As for a return to ‘normal life’, Van Ranst hopes it will happen by the end of this year.
The Brussels Times
