BRUSSELS: Belgium announced to lift some of its coronavirus restrictions on Friday (January 21). Prime Minister Alexander De Croo extended opening for bars and restaurants to midnight from 11 pm, allowed indoor activities such as play areas and bowling alleys to reopen and said venues with good ventilation could host more people than now. The changes will apply from next Friday.
“The reason we can do this is the fact that we have such a high vaccination rate,” De Croo told a news conference, adding that vaccinated people were half as likely to catch COVID-19 and 90per cent less likely to need to go to the hospital if they did.
Some 89per cent of adults in Belgium is fully vaccinated and 67per cent have now also received a booster shot.
De Croo said that from March 1 the initial vaccination series would be valid only for five months, with boosters required to keep COVID passes active, although they would still be valid with a test or recent recovery from infection.
That five-month limit is among the tightest in Europe. For neighbouring France, it is seven months, while the EU-wide guide for travel within the bloc is set at nine.
