Gradual return to school to continue in Belgium
At its meeting on Wednesday, 27 May, the Consultation Committee agreed – based on a proposal by the education ministers and a recommendation by the Exit Strategy Expert Group (GEES) – on the next steps in ensuring that Belgian schoolchildren can return to school. It will be recalled that during the second phase of the easing of the lockdown, the decision was taken to gradually resume lessons for preschool, primary and secondary pupils. Children’s development is a priority for the…
Phase-out: start of phase 2 from 18 May
The National Security Council (NSC), extended with the ministers-president had a meeting today, Wednesday 13 May. On the basis of the GEES experts’ report, the NSC decided to start phase 2 of the phase-out plan as from 18 May. This phase is mainly about the gradual restarting of teaching for certain pupils in primary and secondary schools, under strict organisational conditions. Kindergartens will remain closed at this stage and higher education has already organised the end of the…
Phase-out strategy (phase 1b, 11 May): More social contacts and shops allowed to open, subject to conditions
Today, Wednesday 6 May, the National Security Council, extended to include the Ministers-President, met to validate, complete and clarify the new phase of the phase-out strategy, phase 1b, which will start on 11 May. The experts gave this new phase the go-ahead, as a number of criteria are looking well at the moment: the number of hospital admissions per day, the average trend of these hospital admissions which is lower than in…
A common and coordinated strategy to provide a means of protection to every citizen
As of 4 May – the start of the phasing out in Belgium – wearing a means of protection covering the mouth and nose from the age of 12 is strongly recommended in public places and compulsory in public transport (decision of the National Security Council on the basis of the GEES expert report). You are required to wear a mask as you enter a train or metro station and when you are waiting at a stop. In schools, pupils over 12 years of age and staff must wear a face mask or a different…
Coronavirus: Belgium has defined its exit strategy
On the basis of recommendations from the Group of Experts in charge of the Exit Strategy (GEES), the National Security Council met today, Friday 24 April, in the Egmont Palace to determine the exit strategy from the corona crisis. As a reminder, the federal government and the governments of the federated states have taken a series of measures since 12 March to curb the spread of covid-19 in our country. Hopeful indicators, such as the reduction in the number of daily hospital admissions or the…
Coronavirus: measures extended until 3 May with some flexibility added, but basic instructions remain unchanged – lockdown rules to be eased gradually
At its meeting this Wednesday, 15 April, the National Security Council took several decisions, which, as always, were based on the opinions of scientific experts. One such decision, taken in consultation with the minister-presidents, was to extend the current lockdown measures until 3 May inclusive. To make this extension more bearable, we also decided that: DIY stores and garden centres will be allowed to reopen, under the same conditions as food stores. In other words, social distancing…
Additional socio-economic and health measures in the fight against covid-19
Today, Saturday, April 11th, the Inner Cabinet, extended to include the presidents or representatives of the ten parties (N-VA, PS, MR, Ecolo, CD&V, Open VLD, sp.a, Groen, cdH, DéFI) met in a virtual meeting. The agenda included several straight-forward decisions about, among other things, powers of attorney: The introduction of a temporary moratorium on company bankruptcies. During this difficult period, any company that is struggling to pay off its debts as a result of covid-19,…
Coronavirus : Extension of the measures until 19 April, extendable by two weeks & adapted sanctions
The National Security Council of 27 March, which was extended to include the Ministers-President, decided to extend the measures taken earlier by two weeks, i.e. until 19 April. After that, they can then be extended a further two weeks, i.e. until 3 May. In any case, the situation will be monitored constantly. The National Security Council will meet regularly for this purpose. As a reminder, details of the measures are available on the website www.info-coronavirus.be. We would still like to…
Closure of hairdressers until April 5th
At the e-meeting of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday 24 March, it was decided that article 1 § 1 of the ministerial decree of 23 March 2020 would no longer make an exception for hairdressers. So far, they were allowed to remain open provided they received their customers only by appointment, one customer at a time and while respecting the instructions of social distancing as much as possible. This exception will be abolished effective midnight this evening. The various measures taken in the…
Agreement for the deposit of a "special powers" bill
On Saturday 21 March, the Inner Cabinet met with the leaders of 10 parties (N-VA, PS, MR, Ecolo, CD&V, Open VLD, sp.a, Groen, cdH, DéFI) to reach an agreement on the bill authorising the King to take measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, as provided for in Article 105 of the Constitution. As a reminder, under this Special Powers Act, Parliament authorises the King to act without going through the traditional legislative procedure in order to respond to the emergency situation linked…