19 December 2020: Are Belgium’s latest measures driven by a lack of political courage or based on facts and insights?

19 December 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – Although the number of positive coronavirus tests are increasing more sharply the additional measures the government announced last night were minimal. First, foreign residents coming to Belgium will have to provide proof of a negative coronavirus test before they are allowed to enter the country. Also, anyone be they Belgian or a foreign national that arrives in Belgium from a Red Zone area - most of Europe is currently coloured red on the coronavirus infection map - will be obliged to quarantine for 7 days. Last, there will be stricter checks on cross border shoppers and a stricter enforcement on telework. There were no changes announced regarding the social rules, nor will there be an extended school break. Also, all non-essential shops will remain open. I’m wondering if the decision not to announce a stricter lockdown was driven by a lack of political courage or if it was based on facts and insights. I guess the future will tell. Yesterday’s good news was that the FDA authorized Moderna’s vaccine for emergency use. The vaccine is easier to store and handle than the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Also, the EMA received an application for a conditional market approval for the Moderna vaccine and will work on the assessment of the data over the Christmas period. If the data submitted are robust enough to conclude on the quality, safety and effectiveness, the EMA announced that it could authorize the vaccine at an extraordinary meeting scheduled for 12 January at the latest. Today’s vignette of Ghent was taken at one of my corona walks last week – Kraanlei, Ghent, Belgium.