The Belgian government has decided to drastically soften the long-standing Covid-19 measures in order to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant.
Nightclubs in Belgium will reopen their doors from February 18. In the food and beverage industry, the time and person restrictions will end.
The advisory board meeting on Friday, chaired by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, decided to downgrade the Covid measures from the “red” code to “orange” starting next week.
This means a major easing of the current measures. From February 18, discotheques and nightclubs, which have been closed since last autumn, will be able to open their doors again.
Those who go to discotheques and nightclubs will not have to wear masks.
The time and person limit for restaurants, cafes and bars will end. These businesses will be able to stay open as long as they want and will be allowed to receive standing customers. Masks will be mandatory only for employees.
Standing events such as conferences, concerts and parties will be allowed again.
Halls with adequate ventilation in the culture and arts sector will be able to work at full capacity. Halls with a ventilation value below a certain level will be allowed to receive spectators up to 80 percent of their capacity.
Unlike discotheque and nightclub customers, it will be mandatory for the audience to sit with masks in theaters and cinemas.
The number limit for outdoor activities will end. Up to 200 spectators will be allowed indoors.
At events with more than 50 people indoors and more than 100 people outdoors, it will be mandatory to show a Covid certificate containing vaccine, negative test, recovery or vaccination information.
Starting next week, face masks for children aged 6 to 12 will also be lifted in schools, public places or on public transport.
Everyone can go back to work. Working from home for four days will no longer be mandatory.
The advisory board will meet again in March to decide whether to pass the “yellow” code, which symbolizes almost total relaxation.
Noting that the spring term looks positive, Prime Minister De Croo said that they “have taken big steps towards the new normal”:
“But we should not make the mistake of thinking that the epidemic is now over. Each time we thought we had beaten the virus, but it followed us again. It would be wrong to say that it was just a seasonal flu.”