The news that the UK will update rules for those countries on the amber list raises some interesting and rather difficult questions around travel.
If the updated rules go into effect, a vaccinated Brit could travel from Belgium to the UK, and frolic in the wild with only a few hoops to jump through. They would then have to quarantine upon return to Belgium because the UK is on the very-bad-stay-away list.
Not the end of the world, but still not ideal. The other way, however, is a non-starter.
A vaccinated Brit - non-resident in Belgium - can’t go to Belgium. Meaning:
- No frolic in the wild,
- No hoops to jump through,
- No quarantine upon return, because they didn’t get to leave.
This is a silly way to look at it, but it raises an interesting point. We’re reaching a stage where a high infection rate country is - kind of - opening to people returning from lower-risk countries, or at the very least allowing its citizens to travel there if the other country allows it.
There are many ways to look at this - and they all touch on the idea of fairness and family.
Are the low-risk countries right in making it difficult to travel to higher risk countries?
Are the higher risk countries right for making things easier for people to go abroad?
I guess it’s all pretty charged, and I won’t be able to change anyone’s mind - so tell me, what do you think? Let @johnstonjules know.
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1. '24 infected already’: travel organisation recalls 350 young people from Spain
Youth travel organisation Summer Bash has decided to immediately bring all 350 young people currently on holiday in Spain back to Belgium, after many of them already tested positive for Covid-19. Read More.
2. UK trade restrictions costing plant sector millions, Belgian case study shows
The annual costs of plant trading between Europe and the UK as a result of Brexit is costing the sector millions, and small businesses are bearing the brunt of the expenditures, according to the British Horticultural Trades Association (HTA). Read more.
3. SNCB named Europe’s second most bike-friendly railway
Belgian railway company SNCB has been named the second-best European railway company in terms of reception and infrastructure for cyclists, according to a study entitled “cyclists love trains” conducted by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) and published on Wednesday. Read more.
4. ‘Breaking the stigma’: Belgium now recognises Indian Covishield vaccine
On Wednesday, Belgium’s different Health Ministers have decided to recognise Covishield, which is AstraZeneca’s vaccine produced in India, announced Minister for Development Cooperation Meryame Kitir. Read more.
5. Number of real estate transactions highest since records began
The number of real estate transactions in the first half of 2021 reached the highest number since the launch of the Belgian Notary Federation’s (Fednot) real estate barometer in 2007. Read more.
6. Limburg man in coma after bite from deadly ‘pet’ snake
A man from Pelt in Limburg province is recovering after spending ten days in a coma following a bite from a cobra he kept in his cellar. Read more.
7. Belgium tries to strike the right balance in legalising sex work
Belgium’s federal government is trying to find the right balance between the fight against human trafficking and the creation of a statute to regulate sex work, Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne told the House Committee on Wednesday. Read More.
