STEP BY STEP OPENING OF BELGIUM AFTER THE LOCKDOWN


APRIL 28:
Belgium has last Friday adopted a plan on how to open up society after the corona lockdown. It will happen step by step. Here are the main points ( as I have understood them ):
From Monday, May 4:
1.      Opening of fabric stores and haberdashery – given the importance they will play in relation to the protections covering nose and mouth

2.      Possibility to have physical activities outdoor – now together with max. two other persons – in addition to people from your own household

3.      Possibility to take part in certain sports activities such as tennis, athletics, fishing and golf ( only outdoor )

4.      All other rules and limitations remain in force


From Monday, May 11:
1.      Most shops may reopen – whatever size they have.  It has to happen under certain conditions ( social distance, limited number of persons in the shop, etc. )

2.      All other limitations and rules remain in force


From Monday, May 18:
1.      Schools and other educational institutions may open step by step. Though not full time. And with max. 10 students in the classroom at the time

2.      Possibly reopening of services like hairdressers

3.      Reopening of museums ( on certain conditions )

4.      Possibility to have meetings at home – with a limited number of participants

5.      Possibility for more people to take part in events like marriages, funerals, etc.

6.      More possibilities for sports activities

7.      Possibility for excursions like to the Belgian coast or to the Ardennes

8.      Possibility to go to the second residence ( summer house, etc. )

9.      Perhaps possibilities for families to meet again


From Monday, June 8:  At the earliest !
1.      Reopening step by step of cafes, bars, restaurants and cinemas.



All this will only happen, if the positive development around the corona continues.  If it doen’t, it will not happen.  The Belgian government’s Crisis Committee will meet each week to evaluate the situation on the basis of proposals from the experts – and take the necessary decisions.  The regional governments in Belgium are also members of this committee to ensure that decisions are the same for the whole country.
The present rules about keeping a distance of 1,5 m to other persons continue. At the same time it is recommended to use face masks in public places.  In all public transport it is compulsory for everybody, who is 12 years old or more.  The authorities will distribute face masks.
The main rule will continue to be:  stay home as much as possible. And use tele-working when possible. 
The testing will continue. As of May 4 the laboratories will be able to treat 25.000 tests a day. It will be possible to extend that to 45.000 a day. They will in particular concentrate on the staff in the health sector, the nursing homes and on people feeling ill.
You can get information in French, Flemish, German and English from this public website:

www.info-coronavirus.com


The English-language on-line newspaper The Brussels Times is also following developments closely:

https://www.brusselstimes.com


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AMERICA IS COMING BACK TO THE WORLD !

Image
NOVEMBER 24: This is the day! The day when president Trump finally three weeks after the American elections de facto accepts that Joe Biden has won the elections.   And won by a big margin.   So, now US is coming back to the world.   The nominations president-elect Biden is doing shows that he is choosing experienced and professional people, who know what they will be responsible for.   This is also great news for Europe.    The European-American relations will now come back on the track – as real allies, not as sort of adversaries, as Trump preferred to see them.   EU president Charles Michel yesterday congratulated Biden with his victory and invited him to a summit meeting with EU in Brussels next year, after he has taken over in January. The EU with its 448 mio. inhabitants and the US with 328 mio. have a lot in common.   Their mutual trade is huge. In 2019 it was 720 billion dollars – which is about one third of all international trade. ...
Read more

CORONA SITUATION - AND A FEW PIECES OF ADVICE

Hello on this day - March 5 .  I will once again make comments about the Corona situation - incl. some good pieces of advice I have picked up. See below. I also enclose information linked to this day. And MY WARMEST CONGRATULATIONS to those of you celebrating your birthday or some other happy event today.  Have a wonderful day! I want once again to write an update on the CORONA situation – or COVID-19, as it is also called. It takes up a lot of space in the media – and sometimes also in the real world – for the time being. I want to remind you of the facts I gave in an earlier comment:  WHO , the UN World Health Organisation, informs us that the average number of deaths in the world from the “normal” flu every year is 660.000,  55.000 people per month. And I haven’t seen any figure for how many people are infected by the flu. It is most likely millions of people every year. I also in undramatic terms want to say that I have never seen any similar ...
Read more

SHIP ELEVATORS IN BELGIUM

I have earlier written about Belgian culture. Today I want to tell you about Belgium’s INDUSTRIAL CULTURE.   In the beginning of the 19 th century the southern part of Belgium, Wallonia, was the most industrialised part of Europe – apart from England. It was based upon coal mines, iron and steelworks and a big network of internal waterways for transport.   East of Mons you can f.ex. see a former huge industrial complex, which today is an art museum.   The owners in 1810 built a lot of houses for their workers around the factory.   These houses are still there. The place is called GRAND HORNU. A very special side of the Walloon industrial culture was and are the so-called SHIP ELEVATORS.   They are huge elevators, which can lift ships up and down from different heights of the canals in the area. The first one in Houdeng-Goegnies was build in 1888. It can lift ships 15 meters up and down. Three more were added in 1917. Each of them can lift 17 meters. ...
Read more