28 November 2020: Belgium reopens shops, extends other measures until mid-January

28 November 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – The situation in Belgium is better than a few weeks ago and keeps improving but we are still not out of the danger zone. Over the last week an average of 2,765 people tested positive for the coronavirus every day and 257 people with COVID-19 were admitted to Belgian hospitals each day. In a press conference last night, the government decided, however, to re-open non-essential shops under very strict conditions as of 1 December. Also, museums and swimming pools will reopen as of then. All other measures to curb the further spread of the coronavirus that were put in place four weeks ago will stay into force. This means that bars, restaurants and other businesses in the hospitality sector will remain closed. The same applies to contact professions, such as hairdressers and beauticians. The Prime Minister stressed also that all non-essential travel is strongly disadvised. Border checks will be carried out to make sure that those returning from abroad and have been out of the country for more than 48 hours have filled in their travel registration form and are sticking to the quarantine and testing rules. It also means that we will be celebrating Xmas and New Year in our own household with maximum one “cuddle contact” this year. Clearly, we are still in the middle of the storm and the government is determined not to further relax the measures before we get below the threshold of 800 new coronavirus infection per day. This is not anticipated before mid-January. To cheer you up I’m posting another seascape from a couple of years ago. On display is a view of Cap Blanc-Nez from the beach of Wissant at dusk – Wissant, France.