Belgian Deputy Prime Minister for the Francophone green Ecolo party Georges Gilkinet says it's time to "get busy living" again after two full years of Covid restrictions.
The Federal Mobility Minister vowed not to let up at Friday's Consultative Committee meeting – and make sure Prime Minister Alexander De Croo doesn't only ease virus restrictions from code red to orange as anticipated but goes beyond that.
Speaking on Bel-RTL radio, Gilkinet insisted that the time has finally come for the Belgian government to definitively turn the page on its cautious pandemic management – "and learn to live again."
Gilkinet equated his mobility portfolio to post-Covid "liberty" at every turn – and warned that the wearing of face masks by primary school pupils was a step too far and should now end.
"I'll be demanding that, starting with the youngest age-groups," he said.
Gilkinet's spokesperson Benoit Ramacker underlined later to The Brussels Times that Gilkinet maintains "how else can kids learn to read properly if they can't see their teachers' mouth movements?"
He similarly called for the consignment to history of the Covid Safe Ticket (CST) which has been heavily criticised by the hospitality and events industry – so much so that the nightlife sector has already announced publicly it will no longer respect its continuation, whatever is decided on Friday.
