Reported plans to enforce a quarantine on arrivals in the UK from Belgium have not been officially communicated to the Belgium government, which is currently not aware of any such plans.
Despite widely reported suspicions of quarantine for people returning to the UK from Belgium (and Luxembourg) beginning as soon as Thursday, Belgium's Foreign Affairs Department currently does not have any information on the matter.
Officially, Belgium is "not aware of any plans or measures," according to spokesperson Karl Lagatie. "If the UK decides that people returning from Belgium have to quarantine, this will be reflected in the travel advice on our website," he told The Brussels Times.
"In that case, the country will get an orange colour, explaining that, for example, quarantine is required for people travelling there from Belgium," Lagatie said.
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Reciprocal measures, however, will not necessarily be taken and will depend on the coronavirus situation in the country. "The colour of the zones for travellers returning to Belgium is based on a report of epidemiological data, provided by experts," he added.
For the time being, the only region in the UK that Belgians are not allowed to travel to is Leicester, which is considered a red zone. People coming to Belgium from there are required to complete the passenger locator form, quarantine and get tested.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson pointed out that continental Europe is in the grip of a second wave of coronavirus infections and that the government is ready to take action “where it is necessary.”
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
