Belgium’s procedure to assign an orange or red colour code to various European regions will be adapted, the Federal Public Health Service (FPS Public Health) confirms.
The colour code system has been the subject of criticism and frustration from travellers as well as countries.
“The system will be adapted tomorrow,” according to FPS Public Health spokesperson Vinciane Charlier. The situation will be evaluated by Celeval, an evaluation unit made up of Sciensano representatives and members of Belgium’s various public health administrations among others.
Celeval’s president for the next two weeks, virologist Steven Van Gucht, is not willing to give additional information until after Celeval’s meeting, “to avoid misunderstandings” according to FPS Public Health.
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave several regions in Switzerland, Bulgaria, Romania, France and Spain a red colour code, making travel to these regions forbidden and making a quarantine and test upon return from these regions mandatory.
Switzerland reacted to the new colour code. “We don’t know which criteria Belgium bases itself on,” said Rebecca Ruiz, Public Health Minister for the canton of Vaud, one of the regions that got a code red.
“We only pass on the message,” according to Foreign Affairs spokesperson Karl Lagatie, underlining that Celeval maps everything and makes all the decisions. “They follow not only the statistical but also the sanitary developments.”
The latest updates to the colour codes can be found here.
The Brussels Times
