 Yesterday, cars were not allowed, and pedestrians and cyclists were king in 36 cities in Belgium. The Car Free Sunday reclaimed in Ghent the Fly-over, a highway in the center of the city. The Fly-over and the adjacent Zuidpark became playgrounds for children, local festivities and small concerts were staged – Ghent, Belgium.
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 29 July 2021: As reported yesterday a small number of people are still getting infected with the coronavirus even after being vaccinated, the symptoms they report differ from those for non-vaccinated people. The few people that are fully vaccinated and are not asymptomaticreport following complaints: headaches, a runny nose, sneezing, sore throat, and a loss of smell. Not only fever, but also a persistent cough has disappeared from the list. The loss of smell – which was also a well-known symptom of the original strain of the virus – reappeared.The findings come from a large-scale study conducted by the King’s College London University in collaboration with health science company ZOE, based on data from more than four million people who use ZOE’s COVID Symptom Study app worldwide. The researchers pointed out that although vaccinated patients show fewer (severe) symptoms and get better faster, and that there are virtually no people in hospitals who have been vaccinated you better have a corona test done as soon as you suddenly start sneezing for no apparent reason. Meanwhile, the number of infections in Belgium is still up albeit at a slower pace. Between 19 and 25 July, an average of 1,472 new coronavirus infections were detected per day, a 8% increase from the average of the previous week. On display today is another picture of our Normandy trip. It’s an early morning view of the remains of the harbor that was constructed in 1944, just a couple of days after D-Day – Arromanches, Normandy, France.
 28 July 2021: The number of new coronavirus infections being recorded in Belgium has more or less stabilized after sharply increasing earlier this month. Between 18 and 24 July, an average of 1,474 new coronavirus infections were detected per day. Hospitalisations due to the coronavirus continue to increase slightly, and between 20 and 26 July, there was an average of 28.3 new hospital admissions per day. Last Monday, a total of 305 people were in hospital because of the coronavirus, of whom 97 were being treated in intensive care. The reproduction rate of the coronavirus has dropped to 1.08 after rising to 1.29 last week. Worrying is that there is a rise of breakthrough infections with the Delta variant in people who are fully immunized. I don’t have the figure for Belgium but in the Netherlands 11% of people testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 were fully vaccinated. A very large percentage of these infections are asymptomatic, but these people still can transmit the virus to the most vulnerable among us and those that are not fully vaccinated. Therefore, meticulous compliance to measures like social distancing and wearing face masks remain necessary for the weeks to come… On display today is an early morning picture from the little harbor of Port-en-Bessin. I was looking northeast in the direction of Arromanches where you can see the remains of the artificial harbor that was constructed in 1944 shortly after D-Day… Port-en-Bessin, Normandy, France.
 27 July 2021: There is no explosion of infections in Belgium like in the Netherlands, where all brakes are off, but the figures are still going up. Between 17 and 23 July, an average of 1,472 new coronavirus infections were detected per day, a 10% increase from the average of the previous week. While there is no reason to panic about the increase in Belgium’s coronavirus measures, everyone has to remain vigilant and leave the “empire of freedom” for after the summer, according to Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke. We now have been told that more freedom will be possible after the summer, when the number of fully vaccinated people has gone up from 50% to at least 70%. In summary, we are not there yet, so for now, we’ll keep our distance and put on our face masks. Meanwhile, almost the entire map of France turned orange again. Despite the rising number of infections in France, we have not been asked a single time for our European corona passport or a negative PCR test nor have we been stopped at the border to show our passenger locator form when we returned to Belgium late yesterday afternoon… Port-en-Bessin-Huppain, Normandy, France
 25 July 2021: Virtually all corona indicators are continuing to edge higher in Belgium, but increases are lower than in recent days. Between 15 and 21 July, an average of 1,384 new coronavirus infections were detected per day, a 8% increase from the average of the previous week. There are currently 273 people in hospital because of the coronavirus of whom 84 people are treated in intensive care. The reproduction number stands at 1.1. As the coronavirus is gaining ground again in many parts of western Europe travelling is getting more and more complicated. Nevertheless, we decided to take a long weekend break in France. Although the situation is also worsening in France, where more regions are taking on an amber colour, we felt that a couple of corona proof days in rural Normandy should not be a problem. Our first stop was Honfleur. We’ve not visited Normandy’s most charming port town for decades and we recall the Vieux Bassin being overrun with tourists during the months of July and August. However, this time around there were no large crowds and it was not a problem at all to comply with the recommend 1,5 m social distancing – View Bassin, Normandy, France
 23 July 2021: First the good news: the hike in new infections that we saw in recent days, is slowing down. Between 13 and 19 July, an average of 1,406 new coronavirus infections were detected per day, a 19% increase from the average of the previous week. This being said, the reproduction number stands at 1.24. This means the pandemic is still growing. Also, the number of hospital admissions is on the up. The rolling average for daily hospital admissions between 15 and 21 July was 27. It is especially younger people ending up in hospital: 68 percent is younger than 60. Meanwhile, over half of all people living in Belgium (50.3%) have been fully vaccinated. This percentage amounts to almost 5.8 million people, whilst just under 68% of the entire population, have received at least a first dose. The bad news is that we’re starting to see vaccinated people testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. But as worrying as this trend may seem, breakthrough infections — those occurring in vaccinated people — are still relatively uncommonand those that cause serious illness, hospitalization or death even more so. More than 97% of people hospitalized for Covid-19 are unvaccinated. Whether a vaccinated person ever becomes infected depends on the viral load a person is exposed to, how high antibodies spiked after vaccination, how potent those antibodies are against the variant, and whether the level of antibodies in the person’s blood has waned since immunization. All of this argues for an accelerated worldwide vaccination campaign and a booster shot in fall/ early winter – Ghent, Belgium.
 22 July 2021: Although there is still an increase in the number of people testing positive, this figure is going up slightly less quick than in the previous two weeks. Between 12 and 18 July, an average of 1,351 new coronavirus infections were detected per day, a 26% increase from the average of the previous week. Last Tuesday, a total of 266 people were in hospital as a result of the coronavirus of whom 87 people were being treated in intensive care. The incidence, which indicates the average number of new cases per day per 100,000 inhabitants, is continuing to increase rapidly and is sitting now at 143.4. The reproduction rate of the coronavirus stands at 1.24. The good news is that almost 5.6 million people (60.8% of the adult population in Belgium) have received a second dose of the vaccine and are now considered fully protected. An interesting read was the address of the director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Tokyo, on the eve of the Olympic Games. He denounced the inequal distribution of the vaccines, saying that in low-income countries, only 1% of people have received at least one dose, compared with more than half of people in high-income countries. He stressed that the longer this discrepancy will persist, the longer the pandemic will drag on, and so will the social and economic turmoil it brings. He compared the pandemic with an inferno saying “if you hose only one part of it, the rest will keep burning. And the embers of one fire can easily spark another even more ferocious blaze somewhere else”. He couldn’t be more right – Walcheren, Zeeland, the Netherlands.
 21 July 2021: Today, Belgium celebrates its National Day. Even though Belgium became an independent state in 1830, the national holiday dates back to 1831, when Leopold I took the constitutional oath as the first king of the Belgians. Just like last year the pandemic and now also last week’s floods are casting a long shadow over the celebrations. Today’s events are a display to honor our heroes. Initially, this concerned our heroes in health care, but rescue workers, who took part in operations to tackle the floods, are now also being honored. Meanwhile, the increase in the average number of daily hospitalizations and new cases of coronavirus continues. Between 11 and 17 July an average of 1,345 new coronavirus infections were detected per day, a 33% increase from the average of the previous week. During the same period an average of 23 patients were hospitalized per day. Belgium’s Reproduction number stands at 1.49. There was some more worrying news today. According to a new study the vaccine made by J&J is much less effective against the delta variant of the virus. The new study has not yet been peer reviewed nor published in a scientific journal. But it is consistent with observations that a single dose of the AZ vector vaccine also shows only about 33% efficacy against symptomatic disease caused by the Delta variant. There is still a lot of research to be done to confirm these initial findings but there is one thing you can be sure of…There is light at the end of the tunnel. Yes. But it’s a long tunnel – Walcheren, Zeeland, the Netherlands
 Spain, Portugal, Malta, the Netherlands and Luxemburg are colored red on the ECDC map. Additionally, almost all of Greece and Denmark, the Mediterranean coasts of Croatia and France, and the French capital of Paris have turned orange. Also, Belgium is colored orange again. Orange meaning that the risk of infection is now considered “moderate”. Against the backdrop of the rising infection figures the Belgian government announced yesterday stricter rules for travelers returning home. First, all travellers wanting to enter Belgium after at least 48 hours abroad are required to complete the Passenger Locator Form, regardless of the colour code of the zone they return from. Second, those returning from a red zone without being fully vaccinated or having a recovery certificate have to get PCR tested on day 1 and day 7 after they come home. If the test is positive, a quarantine of 10 days is mandatory. The colour codes no longer matter for people who are fully vaccinated or recently recovered from a Covid-19 infection, as they do not have to get tested or quarantine upon return to Belgium. Meanwhile, the number of infections continue to rise in Belgium. Between 10 and 16 July an average of 1,330 new coronavirus infections were detected per day, a 41% increase from the average of the previous week. During the same period an average of 21 patients were hospitalized per day. We’re limiting ourselves to a corona proof one day outings just across the border in Zeeland – Walcheren, Zeeland, the NetherlandsParagraph.
 11 July 2021: The sharp rise in the average number of daily new cases of coronavirus diagnosed continues. The average daily number of new cases of Covid-19 went up in the past seven days to 86%, continuing the precipitous rise of the last few days. On Friday, a total of 240 people were in hospital as a result of the coronavirus of whom 93 people were being treated in intensive care. The incidence, which indicates the average number of new cases per day per 100,000 inhabitants, now sits at 65.8.The reproduction rate of the coronavirus fell slightly from 1.09 to 1.06. Meanwhile the vaccinations carried out today will take the number of people fully vaccinated to more than 50% of the adult population of Belgium. Despite this worrying trend the summer exodus started resulting in significant delays on roads in France and elsewhere. Another catalyst for a potential fourth wave? The triennial Bruges offers an excellent alternative to long road travel. From May 8th till Oct 24th, Triennial Bruges brings contemporary art and architecture to one of Belgium’s major art cities. On display is an installation of Gijs Van Varenbergh. His work, Colonnade, is somewhere between a forest of impenetrable trees and a Roman column gallery - Triennial Bruges 2021, Bruges, Belgium.
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