16 January 2021: At this rate measures won’t be relaxed before the beginning of March…

16 January 2021: On average during the week to 12 January 2,037 people a day tested positive for the coronavirus.  The figure is up 17% on the week. The recent rise in the number of people testing positive for the virus is flattening off a little bit but with the fall in the number of people with COVID-19 that are being admitted to hospital slowing, it could be some time yet before the government will start considering a relaxation of the measures designed to curb the spread of the virus. Experts said that this won’t be before the beginning of March. Meanwhile, nearly 50,000 people in rest and care homes have been vaccinated with the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine and as of Monday Belgium will start administering the Moderna vaccine in hospitals. The two vaccines will most likely be joined by that of AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford at the end of January as the EMA has received a formal application for authorisation. An interesting fact that came to my attention yesterday was that the EU is considering a Covid-19 passport/certificate allowing holders to be able to travel around Europe freely. An interesting thought but I’m wondering if the proposal will survive the political and legal challenges associated with it. Anyhow, we will limit ourselves to walking the Belgian coast – De Haan, Belgium.