Belgium Refrains From Benchmarking France's COVID-19 Restrictions - Prime Minister

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th July, 2021) Belgium will not introduce mandatory immunization for health workers and COVID-19 certificates for access to restaurants, like France did, opting instead for toughening the current rules, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Monday.

Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that a health pass, certifying that the bearer has either been fully vaccinated or had a recent negative COVID-19 test result, would become mandatory in France starting from August for those visiting bars, restaurants, shopping malls, as well as when boarding a train or plane. Starting from July 21, such a pass will be required to attend cultural events, festivals, amusement parks and various shows and performances.

"Vaccination brings results. The gap between the morbidity rate and the hospitalization rate is on the rise.

And this is happening due to immunization," De Croo said.

He noted that Belgium, with 8 out of 10 adult citizens having received at least one dose of a vaccine, had the upper hand in curbing the disease.

The country will still uphold tough controls for those returning from abroad, De Croo said. If an arriving person has not been vaccinated, they will have to pass two tests on the first and the seventh days following the arrival and will be placed on lockdown for at least 7 days until getting the second negative test, the prime minister said.

Starting August 13, a health pass equivalent will start circulating in Belgium. It will be needed to get access to events with over 1,500 participants. To get the pass, one should have an EU digital COVID-19 certificate, be fully vaccinated or present a recent negative PCR test.