Sharjah24 – AFP: Belgium will reopen nightclubs and allow cafes to stay open beyond midnight in a week's time but some Covid-19 restriction will remain in place, including the vaccine certificate, Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said Friday.
From February 18, bars will once again be allowed serve after midnight, he said, and working from home will no longer be compulsory, he said.
But restaurants and entertainment venues will still check patrons' Covid vaccination certificate, a policy that will be reviewed in March.
The coronavirus pandemic has killed almost 30,000 people in Belgium and there are more than 23,000 new cases every day, but the national vaccination campaign is one of the most successful in Europe.
In common with its neighbours, Belgium is now gradually phasing out the emergency laws brought in to stem the spread of the virus, and business and social life is returning to normal.
But this has not satisfied a sceptical fringe. Brussels has seen several rowdy street marches against Covid rules, and on Monday protesting truck drivers from around Europe are due to converge on the city.
The convoys have been banned by Belgian authorities, but police fear disruption, as the movement that began in Canada gains ground in Europe and targets EU institutions based in Brussels.
"I say to those coming from abroad, look at the rules in Belgium. We've never had the toughest rules and we don't have them so much any more. So go and protest in your own country," de Croo said.
For an optimal experience, please
