Archived: Belgium's third wave of coronavirus, February-May 2021

What's the latest?

"The third wave is now under control," said interfederal spokesman Yves Van Laethem on Tuesday. "It is up to us to keep it under control permanently. The vaccination campaign has reached its cruising speed and will further accelerate over the coming weeks."

Monday 26 April brought the easing of several of Belgium's coronavirus measures. Outdoor gatherings are now possible in groups of up to 10 (not counting children aged 12 and under). It will be possible to visit a non-essential shop without an appointment, and accompanied by one other person from the same household. Hairdressers and beauty salons can reopen - and estate agents are allowed to organise visits to properties again.

A new study by Sciensano, KU Leuven and Hasselt university has revealed the business sectors where exposure to coronavirus is most common. They include the food industry, manufacturing, hairdressing and teaching - but also cleaning, waste collection, call centres and packaging.

A student at KU Leuven has tested positive for the Indian variant of coronavirus. He had flown from India to Paris, five days after a group of Indian nursing students made the same journey and later tested positive. The student went immediately into quarantine. Virologist Marc Van Ranst said: "Other laboratories are now also researching this variant. It is very difficult to say how widespread this variant is."

Twenty Indian nursing students in Belgium have tested positive for the Indian variant of coronavirus. They were among a group of 43 students who flew to Belgium for training in Aalst and Leuven. All of them had tested negative before leaving India, and again in transit at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. "Then they were taken by bus to Aalst and Leuven," said virologist Marc Van Ranst. "There was probably a super-spreader on the bus, who infected the others. Five days later, on 17 April, the first students got sick. They were then tested and research shows that this is the new Indian variant." All of the students are in quarantine and it is unlikely that they have infected others since arriving here.

The four-week "Easter break" - when Belgium did not ease any of its coronavirus restrictions - has had very little effect on reducing the virus's spread, according to interfederal spokesman Yves Van Laethem. While the figures are "very slowly" in decline, hospital and intensive care occupancy remain too high. "Vaccination alone will not succeed in bringing down the third wave," he said.

The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive continues to rise, and is close to the 10% mark. Biostatistician Geert Molenberghs has a possible explanation. "I have the impression that people are not getting tested earlier. They leave the virus to run its course and only get tested when they get really sick." Another explanation comes in the launch of self-testing kits. A user might buy a self-test first, and only go for a PCR test for confirmation if the self-test result was positive.

Three experts have penned an open letter in Le Soir newspaper calling for a rethink of Belgium's coronavirus strategy. "The sector-by-sector approach which could be justified in the urgency of the first wave is now showing its limits", write ULB professor of infectious diseases Nathan Clumeck, epidemiologist Marius Gilbert and Saint-Luc infectious disease specialist Leila Belkhir. "When an increasing proportion of the population at risk is vaccinated, and with the approaching arrival of the summer season, the resumption of a whole series of activities should be considered," they write.

Coronavirus worries are keeping almost a third of people in Belgium awake at night. According to a VUB and Brugmann hospital study, 29% of people suffer insomnia, up from 19% in during the first coronavirus shutdown last year and 7-8% before the pandemic hit.

The Belgian state has been given 30 days to amend the legal framework underpinning all of its recent coronavirus measures, or face a penalty of €5,000 per day. The Brussels Court of First Instance found in favour of the League of Human Rights, which had argued that using ministerial decrees to pass the coronavirus restrictions, without any parliamentary scrutiny, was unlawful. The 28 October 2020 decree, and those that have followed since, have all been based on emergency powers in a 2007 law on civil security. The court ruled that this law, which was intended for natural disasters, could not be stretched to cover the management of a pandemic. The ruling will have no concrete consequences for people's day-to-day lives: there is no chance of the coronavirus rules being dropped because of this judgment. The Belgian state has already announced it will file an appeal. Meanwhile, the government's new "pandemic law" is already being scrutinised in parliament - although it's unlikely to pass within 30 days, given how many questions MPs have already tabled.

Shopping

A ministerial decree has clarified what counts as an "essential shop", which can remain open during the four-week coronavirus shutdown. They include food stores, convenience stores, shops selling pet food and hygiene/care products, pharmacies, newsagents, bookshops, petrol stations, telecoms shops, medical device suppliers, DIY stores, garden centres, flower shops, stationery and haberdashery stores. Car washes, ice cream shops and estate agents can also remain open.

Staff have blockaded warehouses belonging to the supermarket chain Lidl in a protest against high workloads. Unions say the worsening work conditions pre-date coronavirus, but that the crisis has amplified the problem. Shop staff are reportedly also considering strike action over increased workloads and abuse by some customers.

Delhaize has reported several incidents of customers refusing to wear a mask, because they say they have been vaccinated against coronavirus. A spokesperson said "about 10 to 20" cases had been reported so far, adding: "More and more people are questioning the obligation to wear a facemask because they are vaccinated."

A pet food and fishing supplies store in Dinant is facing the unusual scenario of being considered both "essential" and "non-essential" at the same time. Customers can walk in freely to buy food for their animal, but if they want to access the fishing side of the shop, they have to leave again and send the owner an SMS requesting an (immediate) appointment, RTL reports.

Clothing retailer Pimkie has been declared bankrupt by a court in Tournai. Twenty-four Belgian stores and 136 employees are affected. Management said turnover had been down for several years, exacerbated further by the pandemic.

Retail federation Comeos says the requirement to book an appointment to visit a "non-essential" shop will cost the sector €1 billion in lost revenue over the coming month. The biggest stores are limited to 50 customers per half-hour. A survey by Comeos found most stores saw a 60-85% drop in turnover on Saturday. "If this first Saturday is indicative of the weeks to come, several retailers plan to close," the federation said.

Foreign travel

Belgium has allowed non-essential travel within the European Union - although foreign trips are still "strongly discouraged". Travellers returning from a red zone (most of Europe) must still quarantine and take two coronavirus tests, seven days apart. They will receive phone calls reminding them of their obligations. In the first half of April, 75% of passengers returning from abroad complied with the day-one coronavirus test, but only 25% took the second test a week later. There are a handful of orange zones, from which quarantine is not required, such as Portugal, Sardinia and the Balearics. Iceland, Finland and Denmark are green zones. Each destination country has its own rules, which you should check before booking. Passenger locator forms must still be filled in, 48 hours before travel.

In the past week, 58 people have been caught at Brussels Airport attempting to travel with forged coronavirus test results. Each of them was fined €750. Failure to pay will lead to prosecution and possible five-year prison sentence and a €2,000 fine.

Two-thirds of people believe Belgium's lifting of the ban on non-essential foreign travel within the EU was premature, according to the latest UAntwerpen study on attitudes to the pandemic, based on 22,000 responses. A third of people think reopening cafe terraces on 8 May is also too early.

Two teachers at a secondary school in Forest are facing disciplinary action for organising a school trip to Turkey during the Easter holidays. About 10 pupils travelled from Brussels to Germany and boarded a plane to Istanbul, while the ban on non-essential foreign travel was still in place (and remains so for non-EU countries). The trip had initially been planned last year, but postponed because of the coronavirus crisis. The school's director was reportedly unaware of the trip and has asked the two staff members to explain their actions.

Travel agents have been overwhelmed with demand since the consultative committee last week announced the lifting of the non-essential travel ban within the EU. Some agents are expecting a near-normal level of summer bookings. One estate agent in Namur said: "We have some impatient people who want to leave immediately. A lot of people are concentrating on early May." On average, tour operators expect this summer to be at about 75% of pre-corona levels.

Brussels Airlines plans to offer a €250 flight voucher to 250 "heroes" who have made a difference during the coronavirus crisis. The voucher can be redeemed until the end of the year and you can nominate your hero at www.brusselsairlines.com

Passenger numbers at Brussels Airport were down by 91% in March, compared with the same month two years ago. Meanwhile, the federal crisis centre has warned that the lifting of the foreign travel ban does not mean it's open season for travelling abroad. "This is not an open door to do anything," a spokesman said. "Now is not the time to travel. It's better if we can avoid these trips. It is still strongly advised not to travel abroad because the virus is still very present."

Interfederal spokesman Steven Van Gucht is confident we will be able to travel within Europe this summer. "It's going to be fine," he told Het Laatste Nieuws. "The European vaccination strategy has been the subject of much criticism, but the great advantage is that all EU countries are vaccinating at the same rate. Because the situation will be similar everywhere in summer, it offers the prospect of opening up internal borders."

The likelihood of the non-essential travel ban being lifted for the Easter holidays is slim. What about the summer? Elio Di Rupo said: "Before all these vaccine delays, we had planned to vaccinate everyone over 18 who wanted it by the end of June, with at least one dose, which would have meant a great degree of freedom in July and August. Now there is a delay. If we can make up for this delay, we can breathe a little more."

Border police carried out spot checks on 67,000 people travelling during the carnival half-term holidays - of whom 435 were found to be making a non-essential trip.

The Belgian federal government plans to offer low-interest loans to travel agencies to ensure that customers receive their refunds on time. Travel agents owe their customers €193 million for bookings that were paid-up and then cancelled. At first, they issued vouchers to be redeemed against a future booking - but these are now expiring and customers are entitled to their money back. "Not all agencies can repay these amounts and that is why the government will provide a loan at a preferential rate over five or six years," said consumer affairs minister Eva De Bleeker.

Police checks were on the Franco-Belgian border in West Flanders after an outbreak of the British variant of coronavirus was detected in Dunkirk. Provincial governor Carl Decaluwé said: "There is a lot of commuter traffic and not much can be done about it. On the other hand, we see that many people are still crossing the border to buy cigarettes or just to go for a walk."

Very few checks are being carried out on whether people are following the quarantine rules - because the information provided to local authorities is too vague. Nathalie Debast, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flemish Towns and Municipalities, said local police received a long list of all the residents who should be in quarantine - "but we do not know if they are in fact infected people, people who have had high-risk contact or people returning from a red zone abroad." She said this made it impossible for police to prioritise who should be checked. "If we could at least know which people have actually tested positive, this would allow more targeted monitoring and allow municipalities to set priorities with the limited resources they have today."

No fines have been issued to travellers returning from a red zone who fail to take a coronavirus test, De Standaard revealed this week. Neither the federal police, which collects statistics from local police forces, nor the college of general prosecutors, nor the interfederal Testing & Tracing committee, are aware of any fines being issued. Tens of thousands of people who returned in January from red zones abroad did not comply with the compulsory test on days 1 and 7. This offence is punishable by a fine of €250.

The federal government intends to create a special fund to help travel agencies and tour operators avoid bankruptcy in the coming months - as many customers whose trips were cancelled last spring will soon become eligible for their money back. When the coronavirus crisis hit in March, package holiday operators issued more than 200,000 vouchers to travellers, for a total value of €356 million, entitling them to rebook their trip at a later date. After 12 months, the vouchers could be traded in for a refund - and that 12-month cut-off is fast approaching. The government fund would grant zero-interest loans to firms to ensure customers are paid what they are owed.

Travel agency Neckermann has been granted bankruptcy protection from its creditors, giving the firm four months to find a buyer. Customers can still make or modify reservations and redeem their vouchers. Chief executive Laurent Allardin said: "I strongly believe in Neckermann's future. Before the coronavirus crisis, business was going well. To this day we still haven't received any financial support from the authorities when we have been hit hard by the crisis."

A French couple living in Brussels have asked the Council of State to suspend Belgium's ban on non-essential foreign travel, arguing that it is illegal and disproportionate. Benoît Lebret, who has spent 23 years to-ing and fro-ing between Brussels and Paris, said: "My wife can no longer go to see her 83 and 85-year-old parents in Paris, I can no longer see my brothers and sisters. It is sad to see that something that in my opinion is essential, maintaining family ties across borders, has been banned and is considered non-essential." His lawyer will argue in court next week that the travel ban goes against the European principle of free movement of citizens.

Passenger numbers at Brussels Airport in January were down 84% on the same time last year. Passenger flight movements fell by 78%. Airport CEO Arnaud Feist said: "We hope that non-essential travel can resume safely before the Easter holidays and we are hopeful for the coming summer."

Coronavirus testing

Coronavirus antigen self-testing kits are now available in Belgian pharmacies. Two self-tests have been approved by the Federal Medicines Agency - those developed by Roche and Biosynex, at a cost of between €5 and €10. The kit includes a large cotton swab, to take a sample from your nostrils or throat. After about a quarter of an hour, the bars on the display will indicate the result. Consumer protection watchdog Test-Achats urges caution: "The test only gives a positive result for people if the sample is large enough. It therefore does not detect newly infected people. If the consumer does not use it properly, they could get a false negative."

There has been no mad rush to stock up on coronavirus self-testing kits in Belgian pharmacies, according to the Belgian Pharmaceutical Association. The self-test has been available since last week, at a cost of about €7. "Supply and demand are stable, which means that everyone who wants to get a self-test can find one today," a spokesman said.

Seeing people

The Brussels region will scrap its night-time curfew on 8 May, when the nationwide curfew is also eased, minister-president Rudi Vervoort has confirmed to parliament. The curfew will be replaced by a ban on gathering in groups of more than three people between midnight and 5.00.vacci

Until 8 May, we're still only allowed one close contact - but a study by the GEMS expert group has found that people, on average, have between four and five. "That's an average," said psychologist Maarten Vansteenkiste (UGent), who sits on the expert panel. "Four in 10 respondents still stick to the rule of only close contact."

A 21-year-old man died at a lockdown party in an Antwerp hotel, after he fell from a top-floor window while trying to hide from police. Officers had been called out to the hotel after several reports of noise nuisance around 4.00 on Sunday morning. Meanwhile, a woman injured her shoulder after jumping from a window when police were called to a lockdown party in Borgerhout, where 16 people were present. At a third incident, in Dilsen-Stokken (Limburg province), six partygoers tried to hide on a roof. Two jumped from the roof and were uninjured - but were still caught by police.

The co-president of the Ecolo political party, Jean-Marc Nollet, has told reporters he is not respecting the rule on having just one close personal contact who you can invite indoors. "No, I can't respect the bubble," he said. "For a few weeks now I have allowed myself to invite a couple. I do my best, I am a human being. Human contact is vital. I consider that only one contact since November is not tenable."

Brussels' curfew will remain in place from 22.00-6.00 until at least the beginning of April, minister-president Rudi Vervoort has announced following a meeting on Wednesday of the region's 19 mayors. If the coronavirus numbers improve, the Brussels curfew could be brought into line with the rest of the country - midnight to 5.00 - next month.

Leaked photos showed several dozen prison officers at Lantin prison partying and drinking, without masks or safe distancing. Management described the event as "unacceptable" and said it would harm the ongoing lobbying for prison officers to be considered a priority group for vaccination.

Brussels mayor Philippe Close has asked the city's police to take a tougher stance on outdoor gatherings, after several thousand people descended on the Bois de la Cambre to enjoy the good weather - often without masks or safe distancing. Similar gatherings were reported in Liège, where a large number of students met up in a park, on the Sint-Pietersplein in Ghent and in Leuven, where police cleared a crowded park on Wednesday. Leuven mayor Mohamed Ridouani said: "I understand that everyone wants to enjoy the good weather, but the pandemic is still not over and the measures apply to everyone."

Daytrips and sightseeing

The Brussels Hotels Association has launched a promotional campaign to encourage residents to spend a night away from home with their partner, a close contact or best friend. High-end hotel rooms are on offer for a fraction of their normal price, from 12-21 February. See www.contactrapproche.brussels

The "window seat" rule on SNCB trains to the coast will not be extended beyond 25 April, mobility minister Georges Gilkinet has confirmed. The measure was introduced to attempt to limit the number of people on each train and ensure they are well spaced out.

The SNCB's measures to limit overcrowding on trains to the seaside had an unexpected consequence on Sunday evening - on the last night before they expired. About 300 students were told to disembark a train in Sint-Truiden. They were travelling from Hasselt to Leuven, where they were returning to campus. But because the train's final destination was Blankenberge, the rules on maximum capacity and the "window seat only" rule applied. 

The coronavirus crisis has cost Belgian rail operator SNCB an estimated €1 billion in lost revenue. "Before the Covid crisis, we transported 900,000 passengers per day," said chief executive Sophie Dutordoir. "In the first wave, we fell to just 10%, or 90,000 travelers. In the meantime, we are back up to 52%." The SNCB is forecasting a €400 million budget deficit for 2021.

Blankenberge will not allow any major events during the summer, its mayor has announced. The city wants to focus on smaller events instead to manage the crowds. "Usually, there are outdoor concerts here and there, but we will not allow them this summer," said Daphné Dumery. "In summer, there are already a lot of people. Organising additional events is therefore not on the agenda."

The mayor of Brussels, Philippe Close, does not believe that the organisers of 'La Boum' in the Bois de la Cambre are capable of organising a carefully controlled "test event" on 15 May. "It would be a slap in the face for the events sector, which is responsible," he said. "We should be working with the events sector, not with people who are only out to provoke." Asked in parliament about the policing of La Boum 2, interior minister Annelies Verlinden said: "It is understandable that young people want to meet up, but what happened on Saturday was not acceptable. Some people came for a fight. Based on the information that I have, the use of force was adapted to the situation."

Theme park owners say the decision to postpone the 1 April "outdoors" stage in Belgium's coronavirus easing is "a real blow" for business. Jean-Christophe Parent, director of Walibi Belgium, said opening amusement parks would have ensured daytrippers were more evenly spread out around Belgium, instead of congregating at the coast and the Ardennes. "We have 400 seasonal workers who are just waiting. The postponement is a huge disappointment." Meanwhile, Plopsa Coo in Stavelot has asked for subsidies. "It's a disaster," said its director. "We prepared everything for nothing. It is very difficult for the staff too. The worst thing is that we cannot give prospects. We have to wait and always wait. We will have to contact the state again to obtain subsidies because we are not going to survive otherwise."

The federal government has released €7 million in extra financial support for the hotel sector. The aid measure consists of a reduction in social contributions for up to five employees per hotel until summer 2021. It is applicable to hotels that have lost at least 60% of their revenues.

The SNCB will test a new system during the Easter holidays to forecast how busy trains will be. The system is based on the number of people using the journey planner on the SNCB website and app. The pilot project will be tested on the route to Ostend before being extended to other coastal resorts.

The governor of West Flanders, Carl Decaluwé, is worried about possible overcrowding on the Belgian coast during the Easter holidays. "We even think that there could be more people than during the summer holidays," he said. Several mayors of coastal municipalities have already expressed their concerns at the prospect of a strong influx of tourists and daytrippers. Decaluwé has asked for police reinforcements.

Wallonia's tourism minister, Valérie De Bue, hopes the tourism industry will have some perspective by the end of February and be able to start making plans for a promotional push from Easter. With non-essential foreign travel banned for now, Visit Wallonia is focusing on domestic tourism for now, and promoting 2,000 walks with the aim of promoting little-known places, to prevent everyone from travelling to the same places.

Culture and events

The 2021 edition of Rock Werchter music festival has been cancelled. The next edition is now scheduled for 30 June-3 July 2022. "This decision was really not taken lightly," the organisers said. Over the past few months, we have spoken extensively with authorities, experts and representatives of other festivals, the aim being to ensure a safe restart. We have come to the following conclusion: it is impossible to prepare normally for the festival. To postpone the festival again is the right decision."

Hundreds of people gathered on Place Sainte-Croix, next to Place Flagey, on Saturday night to celebrate the lifting of the late-night curfew. A call had circulated on Facebook from the Réappropriation Intégrale collective, supported by L'Abîme, which previously organized La Boum 2 in the Bois de la Cambre. Partygoers danced without masks and some let off fireworks. Police watched from a distance at first, but intervened after midnight, when new rules apply on gathering in groups of more than three. Police used water cannon to clear the square at about 1.30 in the morning, when about 500 partygoers were still present.

Ixelles mayor Christos Doulkeridis has said he will not tolerate a repeat of Saturday night's scenes at Flagey, where hundreds of people gathered to party until the early hours. The mayor was present throughout Saturday's events and instructed police to clear the area at about 1.30 in the morning. "At one point, the only option left was to have the place evacuated by the police," he said. "What is disappointing is that people tell us to stop treating them like children - but they show no sign of responsibility. That just proves right those who say that we need curfews and rules. It's a shame."

Musicians will take to the stage at the Forest National daily for the next two weeks to celebrate the venue's half-century. But they will play to an empty room. Some 5,000 tulips and roses will take the place of the spectators in the auditorium. Each flower can be sponsored and the money collected will be donated to a fund supporting people working in the arts and events sectors, who have been without work for most of the past year. "The goal is to help the sector to survive," said venue director Coralie Berael. The flowers will afterwards be donated to vaccination centres, where people who have received their jab will be free to pick one up. "Vaccination is our lifelinen, said Bereal. "Each person who leaves a vaccination centre is a person we hope to see returning to the auditorium."

The Facebook listing for "La Boum 2" in the Bois de la Cambre on Saturday has been removed, after Facebook received a request from the prosecutor's office to do so. It had attracted 27,000 likes. Less than a day later, a new event posting has appeared for the same gathering, so far attracting 2,000 participants. In a joint statement, the City of Brussels, the prosecutor's office and the Brussels-Ixelles local police force said: "We advise everyone not to participate in this event. It is important to continue to respect the health measures. If necessary, the police will intervene. You risk a fine or an administrative arrest."

KVS theatre's early reopening has been officially recognised as a "test event" to assess how cultural institutions can safely resume their work. The Flemish theatre in Brussels will reopen on Wednesday, after two days of dress rehearsal, with a larger audience than initially planned: 100 instead of 50. This means about one in five seats will be occupied. Audience members will take a rapid coronavirus antigen test on arrival and the venue will be well-ventilated at all times. If the results of air quality tests are positive, the number of spectators will be doubled next week.

After a first digital edition last year, Belgian Pride will once again be an online-only celebration this year. The traditional parade will be replaced by a live broadcast from the Grand-Place in Brussels on 22 May from 14.00.

Cultural venues which choose to reopen before the ban is lifted will not be deprived of their subsidies, Francophone culture minister Bénédicte Linard has said. "It is out of the question to withdraw subsidies from cultural organisers," she said. "They deserve to be heard."

L'Abîme collective, which is planning a big get-together in the Bois de la Cambre on 1 May, says it has been in contact with state security and the office of Belgium's interior minister to negotiate how the event can go ahead. The group denied that police had tried to contact them in vain. "As long as we respect the latest health rules with groups of 10 outdoors, I do not see why we should postpone the event," L'Abîme said. The first edition of "La Boum" saw about 2,000 people gather in the Bois de la Cambre on 1 April. A 23-year-old student who attended the party appeared in court this week charged with rebellion, assault and battery resulting in incapacity towards a police officer. He faces a fine of up to €20,000.

A representative of the L'Abîme collective, which is planning to organise "La Boum 2" in the Bois de la Cambre on 1 May, has been summoned for questioning by Brussels police on Tuesday morning. The person made contact with state security and the interior minister's office last week, after the minister claimed that attempts to contact the organisers had been ignored. "We wanted to open a dialogue - so I gave my contact details," the representative said. "I then find myself directly summoned to answer charges, with a police officer warning me that they will arrest me if I do not respond to the summons. It's off-putting to start a dialogue like that."

Several cultural organisations around Belgium are planning to reopen early, with a broad programme of events planned between 30 April and 8 May as part of the Still Standing for Culture initiative. They include shows, screenings, debates, music, performances, public rehearsals - with Saturday 1 May expected to be particularly lively. The full programme will be unveiled this Friday at www.stillstandingforculture.be

Concert halls are closed - but supermarkets are open - so two Belgian musician sisters performed a cello and harp concert in a Delhaize in Schaerbeek on Saturday morning. A small stage was set up between the fresh fish counter and the butcher.

Meanwhile, the Bezet La Monnaie Occupée collective, which has occupied the Brussels opera house for the past two weeks, will stop its demonstrations, after failing to obtain permission to continue. The collective organised a gathering on the Place de la Monnaie every evening, with performances and speeches.

The mayor of Brussels, Philippe Close, has given his support to KVS theatre's plan to reopen on 26 April as a test to show how a Covid-compliant performance can be organised in the future. The theatre plans to welcome 50 guests per night, for five consecutive nights, following a strict sanitary protocol agreed in consultation with a virologist. Close will write to the consultative committee, which announced on Wednesday that it would allow some small-scale pilot events to go ahead in the cultural sector.

The Belgian Comic Strip Museum has made almost a third of its staff redundant due to the coronavirus crisis. Seven workers have lost their jobs. Museum director Isabelle Debekker said: "Visitor numbers are down 70%. Until now, we have had no real prospects for recovery, but we know that when there is a recovery, it will not be 100% overnight."

The Gentse Feesten (Ghent Festivities) have been cancelled for a second year running, mayor Mathias De Clercq has announced. "As difficult as it is, the organisers needed clarity," he said.

Police confiscated a sound system from protesters on the Place de la Monnaie in Brussels. Workers from the culture and events sector have been demonstrating there every day for a week. A police spokesperson said police had tolerated the daily gathering, but the noise levels had worsened in recent days and too many people had gathered, which is why the equipment was seized.

The Brussels 20km, initially planned for 31 May, has been postponed until 12 September."Our wish is that an event like this one can go ahead, as we have done for more than 40 years," said organiser Carine Verstraeten.

More than 8,000 people on Facebook registered that they would be attending a spoof music festival in the Bois de la Cambre on April Fool's Day. La Boum promised more than 100 DJs including Calvin Harris, Carl Cox, Martin Garrix and Lost Frequencies across eight stages. "No distancing or barrier gestures will be tolerated," the parody event listing announced.

Eight venues in the City of Brussels will take part in a pilot scheme to make them "Covid-safe" with investment in new equipment and technology, including ventilation systems and UV disinfection devices. Infectious disease specialist Nathan Clumeck has worked with Brussels mayor Philippe Close on the new scheme. The venues that will benefit from the new investment are La Madeleine concert hall, Chez Léon and Roy d'Espagne restaurants, the Palais du Midi, Kinépolis cinema and one of ULB university's lecture halls. Two specialist schools for professional training, the Institut des Arts et Métiers and Institute De Mot-Couvreur are also on the "Covid-safe" list. Other venues can apply to join the scheme. Each will benefit from a tailor-made risk assessment, to create a checklist of the necessary improvements to make, with the possibility of some public co-funding.

A financial support package for Belgium's events sector has been extended until 1 July. "It is not yet clear when and under what conditions events may take place in the future," said economy minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne. "For this reason, event organisers will continue to face serious cashflow problems." Organisers of cancelled events can choose not to reimburse ticket-holders but instead issue a voucher, which can be redeemed up to two years later.

The Brussels government has approved a further €6 million of financial support to keep the region's cafes, pubs and restaurants going until reopening day, as well as the culture, events, tourism and sport sectors. The bonus will be available from Monday via an application form at www.primecovid.brussels

A jazz guitarist in Dinant organised a series of mini-concerts in a church in protest against the coronavirus restrictions. He had planned to play to 15 people - the maximum allowed at a church service - every 40 minutes for five hours. Police arrived within a few minutes and collected the ID details of those present, who each face a €250 fine. The musician could be fined €4,000.

Several hundred people took part in an unauthorised carnival celebration in the Saint-Léonard district of Liège, with beer, music and very few masks or safe distancing. The event was initially intended to be part of the Belgium-wide Still Standing For Culture initiative, which has seen pop-up events around the country in support of artists and other cultural players. The date coincided with when the neighbourhood's carnival would have taken place, which some residents interpreted as a green-light to go out and party.

Schools and children

All schools - French and Dutch-speaking - will return to 100% face-to-face tuition from 10 May. Since October, pupils in the third year of secondary school and above have spent half the week at home. Universities remain under "code orange", meaning students are only present on campus for 20% of the time.eating

Belgian paediatrician Dirk Van Damme, an education expert for the OECD, has called for the school summer holidays to be shortened, to help make up for the learning deficit that many pupils have suffered since coronavirus hit. "A nine-week break is bad for many students," he told VRT.

Universities in Flanders will also return on 19 April to the same arrangement as before the Easter break, with no more than 20% of students in lecture halls at any given time.

Extra-curricular activites for children aged 12 and under have been limited to groups of no more than 10. Parents are also asked to restrict their children's activities to one per week to limit the number of contacts. Camps organised during the Carnival holidays can go ahead as planned. Activities for children over 12 are allowed to resume for the first time since last autumn, provided they are done outdoors and in groups of no more than 10.

Third- and fourth-year secondary pupils in Wallonia and Brussels will resume 100% face-to-face teaching from 29 March. Students in the fifth and sixth year should be back in class after the Easter holiday on 19 April.

The municipality of Evere wants to vaccinate its teachers, to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Acting mayor Ridouane Chahid has written to Brussels health minister Alain Maron asking that teachers be added to the reserve list of candidates who will be offered the jab if there is a surplus of opened vials at the end of any given day. "Staff in schools are faced all day long with around 20 children in the same place," Chahid wrote.

The University of Liège is working on a saliva testing procedure that could enable every primary and secondary school pupil in Belgium to be tested for coronavirus on a weekly basis - as has been done in nursing homes. ULiège professor Fabrice Bureau said: "We will start a pilot phase after the carnival. And then, after the Easter holidays, we will try to target all Belgian schools."

Belgium has seen a sharp decline in premature births since the coronavirus crisis began, according to a study by seven health insurance funds based on neonatal admissions data from 45 Belgian hospitals. Between mid-March and late-August 2020, the number of babies born before-term fell by a third. Gynaecologist Julie Belhomme, head of obstetrics at Brussels' CHU Saint-Pierre in Brussels said the general slowdown in women's professional lives during the stay-at-home period could be a contributing factor. "It's still very surprising because so far science has not shown that working during pregnancy is a problem. We encourage pregnant women to have a normal professional life, to play sports. But there is something here that suggests that, when you stop completely, it seems to work."

Vaccines

Anyone in Brussels aged 50 or over can now book their vaccination appointment on the Bru-Vax platform. The waiting list is now open for people aged 45 and over.

Brussels' 10th and final vaccination centre, at the military hospital in Neder-Over-Heembeek, has opened its doors as of Monday (3 May).

Brussels' Common Community Commission, Cocom, which runs the region's vaccination campaign, is seeking answers from management at the vaccination centre in Forest, after it emerged that friends of volunteers were jumping the queue and getting vaccinated. The centre, which is run by the Red Cross, has not been systematically using the Bruvax reserve list to administer surplus vaccines. "We have asked the Red Cross this week for a list of all people who have been vaccinated in this way," a Cocom spokeswoman said. "The rules remain what they are: we do not allow vaccination centres to deviate from the agreed order."

The Brussels region will cut the gap between administering the two doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine - from 12 weeks to eight - after receiving approval from the vaccination taskforce. "This allows us to fill the appointment slots more quickly," said Inge Neven, in charge of the region's vaccination campaign. In Brussels, a record 47,023 vaccinations were carried out last week. This week it'll be 63,400, and next week 65,100. Flanders has decided to maintain a 12-week gap between AstraZeneca doses.

Pregnant women can be added to the priority list for vaccination from 4 May, Belgium's vaccination task force has confirmed. Prison officers and Olympic and Paralympic athletes will be, too. Access to the priority list is only possible via your GP. It comes after Belgium's Superior Health Council concluded that messenger RNA vaccines (those manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna) can safely be given to pregnant and breastfeeding women.

The mayor of Sint-Truiden, Limburg province, has been criticised after reportedly getting herself and several relatives vaccinated against coronavirus as early as March - at a time when only care-home residents and staff were the priority vaccination groups. "Yes, I was vaccinated in March", 56-year-old Veerle Heeren told Het Nieuwsblad. "At that time, there were quite large quantities of vaccines not administered every day because the convocation system was not fully developed and a group of healthcare providers had already been vaccinated. I assure you that we have followed closely the vaccination strategy of the authorities, establishing a number of target groups and priority lists."

Wallonia is offering over-75s a second chance to get vaccinated, with the launch of a 10-day publicity campaign to try to bring up the proportion of elderly people receiving the jab. Anyone aged 75+ who did not respond to the first invitation to book a vaccine appointment will be contacted again. Appointments can be booked via the freephone number 0800 45 019. Anyone who cannot travel to a vaccination centre should ask their GP to be added to the list for home visits.

There are big disparities in vaccine takeup from one Brussels municipality to the next. About 80% of over-65s in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre have had at least their first dose, while in Saint-Josse the figure is just 51%. The Brussels region has begun a series of awareness campaigns among various religious and linguistic communities, where vaccine takeup is lagging behind the general population. "The idea is to have people who have a relationship of trust with these communities who do not always speak our language or have less access to information," a spokeswoman explained. According to Brussels health minister Alain Maron, Ramadan is also having an impact on vaccine takeup. "It is not a good time for people of Muslim faith to go to be vaccinated," he said. "We think that after Ramadan, they will be more likely to go."

Mobile vaccination teams in Brussels have begun visiting people at home to administer their coronavirus jab. Patients who are not able to travel to a vaccination centre can ask their GP to join the mobile vaccination list. This week, about 600 home appointments are planned. In the long term, it is hoped that up to 15,000 vaccinations can be carried out by the mobile teams, including vaccinating undocumented migrants and the homeless.

Belgium's coronavirus restrictions can be eased further only once over-65s and the chronically ill under 65 have been vaccinated, said Flemish minister-president Jan Jambon. "We decided at the last committee meeting to examine staggered restarts for different sectors at the next meeting. It can offer some perspective. But for as long as the numbers stagnate at this level, it is not enough to relax."

Several people who have been offered a last-minute reserve vaccine via the QVax website say it's been impossible to confirm their vaccination appointment online. QVax, which is only available to patients outside Brussels, is currently down for upgrades. Until the reservation system is back up and running, vaccination centres in Flanders and Wallonia will phone up GP surgeries to find people to get vaccinated at short notice.

Wallonia has renewed its appeal for over-80s to get vaccinated, as more than a quarter of elderly people have yet to book an appointment. The Walloon region is currently vaccinating over-65s and people with chronic health conditions. Anyone over 80 who has not yet booked a vaccination appointment should call 0800 45 019.

The Brussels government will grant all of its civil servants half a day off work to attend their vaccination appointment, when their turn comes up. "Vaccination plays a key role in the fight against the crisis," said Brussels finance minister Sven Gatz. "It is therefore important to encourage vaccination and remove any practical obstacle."

Brussels' new coronavirus vaccination booking system, Bru-Vax, has launched. Anyone aged 56 and over, or with underlying health conditions, can book an appointment online. The reserve list is currently only accessible to people aged 51+. See https://bruvax.brussels.doctena.be/

Brussels' vaccination booking system Bru-Vax attracted more than 4,000 users within the first few hours of launch - 2,153 appointments and 2,300 people joining the waiting list. Brussels is currently vaccinating over-56s and the waiting list is open for people aged 51-55. Every time that the vaccination age limit is reduced, the age limit for the waiting list will also be cut by five years - for example, 45-year-olds can join the waiting list once 50-year-olds start getting vaccinated.

RTBF reports on the security arrangements in vaccination centres. Most of them do not store doses overnight - instead they are kept under high security at 41 hubs dotted around the country, including hospitals, in locked and alarmed fridges. One vaccination centre worker in Charleroi tells RTBF: "As soon as we get out of the car, wwe are accosted by a lot of people who offer us a lots of things, including money to be vaccinated as a priority. Just yesterday, I went out for a short break and someone offered me €500." Police officers and some soldiers are deployed to vaccination centres to ensure public order is maintained. "It is a little symbolic, but the image is very strong," said the director of the Charleroi vaccination centre.

Brussels is seeing about 10% of people cancelling an already-booked vaccination appointment. A new vaccination awareness campaign will therefore be launched in the coming days by the Brussels authorities, notably through social media and groups representing different linguistic and religious communities. The Brussels region will also ask the federal government to recalculate the proportion of vaccines it receives, because 60,000 people living in Wallonia and Flanders have been given the jab in Brussels.

Belgium is waiting for further guidance from the European Medicines Agency before administering any of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccines it has received this week. The United States has suspended its use of the vaccine due to six cases of blood clots. Some 36,000 Johnson & Johnson jabs sent to Belgium this week will be stored in fridges. "We are monitoring the situation closely, and this will also be the case at European level," a spokesman for the vaccination task force said.

Three vaccination centres in Flanders and one in Brussels have started offering Sunday appointments. Tielt (West Flanders), Sint-Niklaas (East Flanders), Malle (Antwerp province) and Boulevard Pachéco in central Brussels are now operating seven days a week. Flanders is preparing for a record vaccination week, with 358,140 jabs scheduled over the next seven days. In Wallonia, no vaccinations on Sunday are planned at this stage.

For the next four weeks, Belgium will not offer the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to people aged 55 and under, after theEuropean Medicines Agency identified blood clotting among younger patients as a "very rare" potential side effect. 18 to 55-year-olds will be offered Pfizer or Moderna jabs instead - and eventually Johnson & Johnson, once deliveries start to arrive in Belgium. Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke said the decision would have little impact on Belgium's vaccination schedule: "It changes very little because we are currently focusing on the elderly," he said. "This is a precaution," said interfederal spokesman Yves Van Laethem. "We will review the situation after a few weeks." In Flanders, about 6,000 vaccinations will be rescheduled. They mostly affect medical students and trainees.

A website set up to allow people with underlying health conditions to check that they are on the priority list for vaccination has crashed. Users have been unable to log on to www.myhealthviewer.be. "We are faced with thousands of people who want to access the application," a spokesman said. "Usually, we have around 50 people who are simultaneously in the application, now there are 2,000 or even 2,500."

Visitors bombarded the QVAX vaccine reserve list website when it went online on 6 April. The site, which allows people to register an interest in receiving a last-minute vaccination at the end of the day, to avoid wastage, has set up an online queuing system to limit the number of people using the site at any given time. More than a quarter of a million people have already joined the virtual queue. The site is not accessible to people in Brussels, as it uses the Doclr federal reservation system, which the Brussels region considers not fit for purpose. Brussels will launch its own version later this month, instead using the Doctena reservation software.

After the initial rush on Tuesday, there were no queues for the QVax platform for joining the coronavirus reserve list on Wednesday, with visitors able to fill in the form immediately. Yesterday, more than 600,000 people flocked to the website. It is estimated that between 500 and 1,000 surplus doses are available per day - meaning the majority of registrants are likely to be vaccinated by appointment when their turn comes round this summer, instead of benefiting from a short-notice reserve jab.

Belgium's health insurance funds have finalised the list of at-risk patients who will be next to be offered the coronavirus vaccine. The list contains about 1.5 million people under the age of 65 and was drawn up based on criteria set by the government earlier this year. Only the patient's national registry number is supplied. "At no point will medical data be communicated," said Luc Van Gorp, president of the CIN federation of mutuelles.

The coronavirus vaccination campaign will step up a gear in April, according to Walloon health minister Christie Morreale, who said there would be "as many people vaccinated in the next five weeks as in the last three months", adding: "It is likely that we can vaccinate all of the population who wishes before the end of summer if vaccines are available."

King Philippe visited the Pfizer plant in Puurs, Antwerp province, from where the coronavirus vaccine is shipped to 78 countries. "I am very proud of what you are doing," the king said. "You have put our country on the world map. Thanks to your vaccine, there is a lot of hope for many people."

Priority candidates for vaccination - over-65s and people with underlying health conditions - who refuse the jab will be offered a chance to change their mind. A second invitation will be sent to them during "phase 2" - the non-priority stage of the vaccination campaign. "We accept that a person can revise their previous position and say that, the epidemiological situation being bad, they intend to be vaccinated anyway," a vaccination taskforce spokeswoman said.

The city of Liège will reimburse the taxi fares for over-75s travelling to and from their vaccination appointment. Nine of the city's taxi firms have agreed to take part in the initiative.

Belgium should receive its first delivery of Johnson & Johsnon single-dose vaccines in mid-April, according to Dirk Ramaekers, head of the vaccination taskforce. In an update this weekend, the taskforce said that, so far, Pfizer-BioNTech appears to be by far the most reliable and punctual supplier, with accurate numbers every week until the end of next month. By the end of April, Pfizer will deliver more than 1.4 million doses.

Three more coronavirus vaccination centres have opened - in Anderlecht, Uccle and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. This brings the total in the Brussels region to nine, with just one to still to come, at the military hospital in Neder-Over-Heembeek.

From 21 March, the SNCB will provide free train tickets for anyone travelling to receive their coronavirus vaccination. The ticket will be available from the SNCB website and app, vending machines and ticket counters. The free second-class return is only valid on the day of the vaccination and you must bring proof of your appointment.

Belgium will accelerate the vaccination of over-65s by leaving a 35-day gap between the first and second doses of the Pfizer jab, instead of 21 days. Until now, for each Pfizer vaccine delivered, a second was put in reserve to guarantee the second dose was administered on time, even if delivery problems arose. People who have already booked an appointment for a second dose, 21 days later, will still receive this as scheduled.

The federal crisis centre has received "several reports" of fraudulent vaccination letters and emails being sent to people, with the goal of obtaining people's personal data or money. A crisis centre spokesman stressed that the coronavirus vaccine was free - you will never be asked to make a payment or give your bank details.

Four more vaccination centres in Brussels opened on 15 March: in Molenbeek, Forest, Schaerbeek and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre. Anderlecht, Uccle and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert should follow a week later, meaning that by the end of March, nine of Brussels' 10 planned vaccination centres will be open - each with a capacity of 27,900 vaccinations per month (except Heysel, where 111,000 vaccinations per month are possible). The 10th venue, at the military hospital in Neder-Over-Heembeek, is delayed. The centres will initially be open from 9.30-16.30. By May, this will be extended to 12 hours a day, six days a week.

Belgium is reportedly considering inviting some healthy under-65s to be vaccinated early - to protect the privacy of those with underlying health conditions. Employers should not know that a member of staff has a health condition - but this might become obvious if an employee has to ask for time off work to get vaccinated during the priority phase. "The percentage of healthy patients we invite will have to be decided at an interministerial health conference," a federal government source said. A ratio of 90% at-risk to 10% healthy is reportedly being considered, although the plan has yet to be approved.

An interministerial health committee has approved giving the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to over-55s in Belgium. Federal health minister Frank Vandenbroucke said: "The opinion of the experts was perfectly clear. AstraZeneca is an excellent vaccine, also for older people. We will therefore start to issue the invitations for people who are over 65 years of age."

After a very quiet start to the campaign, the vaccination centre at Brussels Expo was overwhelmed last Wednesday, with some people reporting queues of up to three hours. Why the sudden change? "As there were initially not enough people who responded to the vaccination invite, the Brussels authorities sent an email to police, social workers and people who work with the disabled, inviting them to come and be vaccinated without an appointment," said Brussels Expo operations director Emin Luka. "The problem is that these people must be registered in the computer system with a whole series of data. This operation takes several minutes and caused a huge queue."

Belgium is against the idea of introducing a "vaccination passport" that would allow Europeans to travel freely. Foreign minister Sophie Wilmès said it was not acceptable to make vaccination "a condition of being allowed to move around" - and the current testing and quarantine rules were enough to limit the spread of the virus.

Belgium's Superior Health Council is now recommending that pregnant women receive the coronavirus vaccine. "There is no known or recorded risk following the vaccination of pregnant women," said Frédéric Debiève, head of obstetrics at Saint-Luc university hospital.

Aside from Brussels Expo and Boulevard Pachéco in the city centre, none of Brussels' other planned coronavirus vaccination centres will open until 15 March at the earliest, due to delivery problems.

The vaccination centre at Brussels Expo has enough doses to vaccinate 1,000 people per day. But only about 200 are showing up. Céline Frémault, from the CDH party, is demanding answers: "In the midst of the crisis, a week's delay is like a hundred years. People are at their wits' end and deserve an effective strategy. We are missing out on thousands of vaccinations a day." Sabine Stordeur, co-head of the vaccination task force, said: "The centre operates on the principle of invitation. Messages did not always reach the right person and the majority of people did not receive the required invitations. All these hiccups from this week should be resolved next week and the week after." She insisted that no vaccines were going to waste - only those that are actually administered are taken out of the fridge. If the response from healthcare personnel remains slow, the vaccination taskforce will consider giving priority to police officers.

Several European countries suspended administering the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine amid concerns about possible blood clotting - but Belgium will not be doing the same. Interfederal spokesman Yves Van Laethem said: "For the moment, these cases are so few and so little documented that the interruption of the campaign would be more harmful than anything else. In most of the countries around us, the decision was made by politicians, not the medical safety agencies themselves. We decided, on our side, for reasons which seem scientific to us, to continue this campaign. I hope that the population will understand that it is really in their best interests, and especially for those over 75, to be vaccinated."

Walloon health minister Christie Morreale said: "The Belgian authorities trust doctors and scientists. The Superior Health Council, the European Medicines Agency, the World Health Organisation, all these bodies are made up of eminent independent experts who believe that vaccination should continue. We are monitoring the situation very carefully. If we learned that an element could change the situation, we would not take any risk."

The FGTB trade union threatened to blockade the GSK plant in Wavre, where the CureVac coronavirus vaccine has started to be produced, in a protest against restructuring and potential job losses. GSK says the concerns are unfounded - the pharmaceutical firm has 9,000 staff in Wallonia and has recently invested €600 million in its two plants in Rixensart and Wavre. The Walloon government has intervened to act as a mediator in the conflict between staff and management.

The City of Brussels will provide a free taxi service to ferry senior citizens and people with reduced mobility to and from their coronavirus vaccination appointment. The city's social welfare organisation CPAS has signed a deal with two taxi firms, Taxi Bleus and Taxis Verts, to provide the service. CPAS president Khalid Zian said the city had more than 500 senior citizens living alone in social housing, who do not always have the possibility of taking public transport or asking help from a relative.

Of the 11,000 healthcare workers in Brussels who have been sent an invite to get vaccinated, only 3,000 have replied to book an appointment. The invitations were sent by email and SMS via the federal platform Doclr. A spokeswoman said: "We don't know if everyone has an email address in this database, if it's the correct address, if the invitation was sent to spam, etc. We will be mailing them a letter instead."

Health authorities in Wallonia have also decided to stop sending coronavirus vaccination invites by email, after encountering various problems in the first phase. Everything will now be sent by post - a first batch of letters went out on Tuesday to 35,000 people. Initial reports suggest emails were ending up in spam folders, or sent to people who had died. Others received an invitation even though they do not belong in a priority group and are therefore not first in line to get the jab.

Four pharmacies in Molenbeek and Anderlecht are taking part in an experiment to offer rapid coronavirus tests to customers. The area was chosen because about a third of residents do not have a general practitioner.

Letters inviting every Belgian resident to get vaccinated against coronavirus are due to be sent out in phases between March and June. The three-page letter will include a 33-character personal code which can be used to confirm your appointment online, as well as a scannable electronic ticket with a barcode and QR code which you should take with you to the vaccination centre. The letters will be sent out two weeks beforehand, Het Belang Van Limburg reported, based on the patient data held by each mutuelle health-insurance fund. The letter will tell you the date and time for both of your vaccination appointments (as two doses are required). In Wallonia and Brussels, the website to confirm your vaccination slot will be www.jemevaccine.be. In Flanders, it's www.laatjevaccineren.be.

Brussels' first public coronavirus vaccination centre has opened, on Boulevard Pachéco in the city centre. But don't all rush at once. It's reserved at first for healthcare personnel who do not work in hospitals or nursing homes, and who therefore have yet to be given the jab. It is expecting about 1,000 people to visit in this first week. When it's running at full speed, the centre will be capable of 900 vaccinations per day. Four other centres in Brussels have been set up, ready, but have yet to open their doors. "We are waiting for the availability of vaccines to ramp up," said Brussels health minister Alain Maron. "We still hope to be able to vaccinate 70% of the population by this summer."

Belgium's health ministers have agreed on a list of health conditions that will entitle people under the age of 65 to be vaccinated as a priority. It includes people with chronic kidney or liver disease and Down syndrome.

Pharmaceutical firm GSK will produce 100 million doses this year of Curevac's coronavirus vaccine at its plant in Wavre. The two firms are also working together to develop a messenger RNA vaccine that is effective against the newer variants of coronavirus that have emerged, with the objective of it being put on the market in 2022.

Belgium will not give the AstraZeneca vaccine to over-55s for the time being, pending further evidence of its effectiveness in the coming weeks, health minister Frank Vandenbroucke has announced. In other vaccine news, Belgium is set to receive 3.8 million Moderna vaccines in June - enough to vaccinate 1.9 million people.

The arrival in the coming weeks of 443,000 doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, which Belgium has decided not to give to over-55s, means several groups of people aged 18-55 will be vaccinated earlier than planned. These include people in "critical functions" including the police, firefighters and military - but not teachers. Teaching unions say they are "bitterly" disappointed that teachers are not considered a priority and has not ruled out industrial action after the carnival holidays.

Residents in Kraainem, Wezembeek-Oppem and Zaventem will be invited to Brussels Airport to get their coronavirus jab when it's their turn. A vaccination centre will be opened in the Skyhall event hall, with panoramic views over the airport tarmac. It's expected to open on 22 February and will have a capacity of 1,200 vaccinations per day. If you live in Overijse, Hoeilaart or Tervuren, your vaccine will be administered at the Markthal in Overijse.

A new coronavirus vaccination centre has been confirmed for Uccle - the 10th of its kind in the Brussels region. Opening on a date yet to be confirmed, it'll be located in a former AstraZeneca lab on Rue Egide Van Ophem, near Calevoet station.

The director of Child Focus, Heidi De Pauw, is among the signatories on an open letter urging Belgium to consider vaccinating young people as a priority. "Young people - 18-24 year olds - must be recognised as essential in our society," she said. "For their mental health, it is important to consider them as an essential group. The most important thing is that we start this debate and that we really take this group into account." Interfederal spokesman Yves Van Laethem does not agree: "There is no doubt that it is necessary to vaccinate vulnerable people as a priority. Without this, we will not be able to give more freedom to young people." He acknowledged that young people had been "collateral damage in the fight against the virus", adding: "We initially considered that since young people were not the target of the virus, everything was fine for them."

The mayors of four municipalities in the north-west of Brussels say they have been overlooked in the preparations to open mass vaccination centres around the capital. Under the current plans, residents in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Ganshoren, Jette and Koekelberg will have to go to Molenbeek, the nearest centre, to get vaccinated. The Molenbeek centre is one of 11 centres around the Brussels region, but its catchment area adds up to 220,000 inhabitants, or almost a fifth of the total Brussels population. The mayors have suggested that Koekelberg basilica itself could make a suitable venue for a more local vaccination centre.

Another glitch at Brussels' new coronavirus vaccination facility at Heysel, as more than 2,000 people were accidentally sent an invitation, despite not being in a priority group. The invites went out by SMS and email to 600 people in Flanders and 1,550 residents in the Brussels region. Inge Neven, head of the Brussels Hygiene Inspectorate, said the appointment would still be honoured for Brussels residents who received the message in error. Recipients in Flanders will be turned away.

Hospitals

Belgian hospitals have stepped up to phase 2A in their coronavirus plan, meaning 60% of intensive care beds - or 1,200 - must be reserved for Covid-positive patients. Non-urgent and planned care must be postponed - but urgent and necessary consultations continue, as do ongoing treatments such as chemotherapy and dialysis. Intensive care capacity is particularly strained in Hainaut and Luxembourg provinces.

According to research by federal asylum agency Fedasil, about 200 asylum seekers in Belgium have the necessary medical background to provide support to Belgian healthcare personnel in the fight against coronavirus - and the vaccination campaign. Most of them are women in their 20s and early 30s, who have a work history in healthcare, midwifery or nursing in their country of origin. About half of them speak Dutch and a third French. They also speak English, Arabic, Farsi and Spanish.

The number of people in intensive care with coronavirus has broken the 500 mark for the first time in 2021. Federal health minister Frank Vandenbroucke is concerned. Responding to calls from several politicians to reopen cafe terraces earlier than May, Vandenbroucke said: "We are having the wrong discussion. It might be nice to talk about easing but it is lulling people into illusions."

Some hospitals in Belgium are starting to turn patients away who wear a cloth facemask. It's the case at Charleroi university hospital, some hospitals in Antwerp province and the Epicura hospital group in Ath, RTBF reports. Anyone entering the buildings is required to wear a disposable surgical mask.

Working

Work inspectors have carried out no fewer than 16,800 spot checks on businesses since mid-December, to check that remote working rules are being respected. A total of 2,340 companies (or 14%) were found to be in breach - of whom 1,762 received a warning. Each company is now required to keep a list of employees for whom working from home is impossible.

Companies that have performed well during the coronavirus crisis will be able to grant staff a one-off bonus of up to €500 net this year, after the federal government reached a pay agreement overnight on Wednesday. The €500 corona premium will take the form of a voucher that can be redeemed against purchases. The list of business sectors accepting the voucher is yet to be defined - and its validity period is also yet to be confirmed.

A report by Belgium's Advisory Council for Gender Equality has found that the pandemic is deepening existing gender inequalities surrounding employment, security and health. The report notes that essential jobs are carried out "for an overwhelming part" by women: almost 100% of home helpers, 80% of mental health workers and 60% of shop workers are women. "They are often devalued," it adds.

The idea of reopening businesses and venues on a case-by-case basis, according to the safety measures they have put in place, is "very interesting", says federal minister for small business David Clarinval. "In principle, this is an excellent idea. Several months ago, we mentioned the idea of moving from crisis management to risk management. We should no longer be looking at sector-wide policies, but pilot phases. For example in Vienna, the philharmonic orchestra has just carried out a pilot project to organise a Covid-safe concert."

A survey by consumer association Test-Achats has found that 71% of people in Belgium have not suffered any loss of income from the coronavirus crisis - and 47% do not plan to touch the extra money they have managed to save over the past year. However, Test-Achats points out that interest rates are abysmally low. "Our economy needs a boost to get out of the crisis after all these difficult months, and the consumer has a key role to play in reviving the economy," said a Test-Achats spokeswoman.

Telenet has reached an agreement with staff to allow permanent working from home, up to 60% of the working week. Staff are free to spend their remote-working time anywhere in the European Union. The company will close one of its Mechelen offices as a result.

Masks

Belgium's Risk Assessment Group has issued new guidance on masks. Covering your nose and mouth with a scarf or bandana is now no longer enough. Cloth and disposable surgical masks remain recommended. FFP2 surgical masks are not necessary, the group says, despite several European countries including Germany making them compulsory on public transport. "FFP2 is marginally more efficient but not much more," said interfederal spokesman Yves Van Laethem." Masks with a valve, often found in DIY/hardware stores, are not suitable. Employees should wear masks at their workplace at all times, even if they are more than 1.5 metres away from other colleagues.

The director of Luxembourg-based firm Avrox, which supplied 15 million facemasks to Belgium, was arrested this week in Cannes, French newspaper Nice Matin reports. The public prosecutor in Aix-en-Provence will decide whether he should be handed over to the Belgian authorities, who are carrying out a fraud, money laundering and forgery investigation into the contract between Avrox and the Belgian defence ministry.

Several police searches took place in connection with an investigation into the supply of millions of masks to Belgium by the Luxembourg-based company Avrox. Belgium bought 15 million cloth masks from the firm for nearly €32 million. Public health institute Sciensano has since recommended that they not be used.

The Belgian health ministry has urged people to stop wearing the free facemasks that were distributed by the federal government via pharmacies last summer. The 15 million masks were produced by Avrox and machine-washable at 30°C. It comes after RTBF revealed a leaked report from public health institute Sciensano had found the fabric may contain nanoparticles of silver and titanium dioxide, which are harmful to the respiratory tract when inhaled. Pharmacies have been told to stop distributing any of the masks they still have in stock, as a precautionary measure pending further analysis of the toxicity risks. According to figures from the defence ministry, which was in charge of procuring and distributing the masks, some 8.5 million have been collected from pharmacies since last summer. Another two million went to the federal administration, including the finance, economy and public health ministries.

Work

A moratorium on company bankruptcies expired on 1 February. According to the UCM union, an estimated 126,000 businesses in Belgium face going bust. The government has announced it intends to reform the procedure for bankruptcy protection, putting in place simpler measures for firms to negotiate a rescue plan with its creditors - which are often state bodies such as the taxman and social security. It should also become easier to ask for deferred VAT payments.

By the end of this year, Belgium will have spent €31.5 billion on managing the coronavirus crisis, according to figures seen by De Morgen. The biggest cost is temporary unemployment, followed by financial support for the self-employed. Healthcare costs come third, at €2 billion.

Eating/drinking

Cafes, pubs and restaurants in Belgium will be able to serve customers outdoors "safely and responsibly" from 8 May - with a 22.00 closing time and a maximum four people per table. Read all the details here...

The mayor of Maastricht has urged Belgians not to cross the border to enjoy a beer on a newly reopened cafe terrace - but she added: "We can't ban it." Outdoor drinking and dining is allowed again in the Netherlands since this Wednesday, between midday and 18.00.

Cafes and restaurants inside Westland shopping centre in Anderlecht mistakenly reopened their (indoor) seating areas on Saturday. A shopping centre spokesperson said there had been a "misunderstanding". The terraces were closed again later that afternoon. An economy ministry spokesperson said: "The only terraces that can reopen are those located outside because there must be air circulating. Shopping centres are considered to be inside, and this is therefore prohibited."

The Wallonie Horeca collective has decided not to go ahead with plans to reopen cafes and restaurants a week earlier than allowed, on 1 May. The early opening had been intended as a protest against the coronavirus measures. A spokeswoman said the government had threatened fines and the withdrawal of benefits for any restaurants that opened early. "We were faced with the choice - express our anger or feed our family," the spokeswoman added. "There are seven days between 1 and 8 May. It is seven days too long, but that is the compromise that we have obtained after hours of discussion."

Interior minister Annelies Verlinden has pleaded with local mayors to respect the rules on cafes reopening. Some mayors had suggested they would turn a blind eye to cafes reopening a week earlier than the official (planned) 8 May date. "We call on everyone to be responsible," she said, "including local authorities, and to respect the measures. Only in this way will we limit the spread of the virus."

Cafe owners who decide to reopen before 8 May will lose their right to claim money from the droit passerelle compensation scheme. The monthly payout ranges from €2,500 to €3,200. "If they reopen on 1 May, they won't get it," said health minister Frank Vandenbroucke.

Police have shut down a restaurant on Rue des Minimes in the Marolles that had opened illegally on Saturday evening, in breach of the coronavirus rules. Eight customers were fined €250 each and the owner faces a €750 fine.

The Brussels government has drawn up new simplified regulations for any cafe or restaurant wanting to install or expand a terrace. "The rules will be the same for all 19 municipalities," said state secretary for urban planning Pascal Smet. Flexible, modular structures (without a roof) may be placed outdoors without a building permit. There must be at least 1.5 metres of clear pavement to allow pedestrians past. If the pavement is too narrow, one car-parking space can be occupied, with prior approval from the municipality or region (depending on the type of street). The regulations will apply from 1 April-31 October, this year and next.

More than 50 cafes and restaurants in Liège are planning to ignore the 8 May reopening date for the catering industry and start serving customers from 1 May. Mayor Willy Demeyer said: "We do not have enough police manpower to put an end to these actions. I believe that solidarity means respecting the rules." The seaside resort of Middelkerk, which often goes against national rules, will authorise cafe terraces to reopen on 1 May.

Two bars are taking mega-brewer AB Inbev to court in a bid to suspend rent payments during the periods when cafes and pubs have not been allowed to open. Lawyer Nicholas Ouchinsky, who is representing the Grand Café in Brussels and Bistropolitan in Etterbeek, said: "The brewer offered my clients a 25% reduction in rents, but that is insufficient. My clients have worked with AB InBev for a long time. However, communication with the brewer is poor. We had to go to court to get answers. AB InBev said in a statement that it was looking to find constructive solutions for all tenants, including staggered payment plans.

A restaurant in Rixensart, Walloon Brabant, reopened on 1 February - but with mannequins taking the place of regular customers. The owner of Chez Thérèse, Thérèse, told RTL: "We've given names to each mannequin, in memory of our great customers. We miss them a lot. Between the two waves, business was good - up 60% on the previous year. But afterwards, we're fallen back to zero. We can't take it any longer. We want to work again - this is our livelihood, our daily lives."

Fifty restaurants are taking legal action against the Belgian state, accusing it of not making sufficient plans to provide financial support to the sector before ordering it to shut down last October. "The operators of catering businesses have been completely left to fend for themselves by the federal state," the lawsuit reads. Among the restaurants involved are La Villa Lorraine, Brasseries Georges, La Chaloupe d'Or and Le Chalet Robinson.

Blankenberge has banned the consumption of alcohol in all public spaces. It means that beach bars cannot sell takeaway alcoholic drinks. However, owners of a beach hut can still consume alcohol there, as they are private property.

Le Pain Quotidien will temporarily close half of its bakeries due to the coronavirus crisis, with chief executive Annick Van Overstraeten criticising a "lack of government support". Thirteen outlets will close, including two in Brussels and three in Antwerp. They will reopen when restaurants are allowed to welcome indoor diners again.

Several organisations representing business sectors that are still shut down by coronavirus restrictions took part in a go-slow protest on the Brussels ring road and then gathered outside the Atomium, to mark one year since the measures came into force. Representatives from the catering, events, fairgrounds and nightclub sectors were all present.

A crowdfunding campaign to support Brussels' cafes and pubs has brought in €200,000. Almost 4,000 people have joined the "Zuur" campaign, donating money to their favourite of 27 participating cafes. Donors will receive a free sour beer, brewed specially for the occasion, once pubs are allowed to reopen. See www.growfunding.be/zuur

What was meant to be a second-hand sale inside Wolf food hall in central Brussels - with food trucks and a live DJ - turned into a party, with videos circulating on social media showing large numbers of people packed into the venue, eating, drinking and dancing on the tables without masks. Wolf's manager told RTL that it was not his intention to flout the coronavirus rules. "I quickly intervened to put an end to it," he said. "I took the microphone and explained that we could not do that." The event was meant to run on Saturday and Sunday - but the second day was cancelled to avoid a repeat.

The mayor of Middelkerke, on the Belgian coast, has defied the federal government's timetable for easing coronavirus restrictions and has announced that cafes and restaurants in the municipality can reopen their terraces this week. He said it was "absurd that people are allowed to come here on crowded trains, to sit like sardines on the coast tram, but that they are not allowed to sit in a beach bar."

The Brussels Horeca Foundation and the SNI trade union has begun legal action against Unisono, the Belgian music copyright collection agency, which has continued to bill cafes and restaurants for the right to play music, even while they have been closed. "We want to only pay for what we consume," an SNI spokesman said. "If you are open eight months out of 12, you should only play for eight."

Belgians spent, on average, 12% less money in 2020 than the previous year, according to a study by ING. The decline was across all business sectors, with the exception of supermarkets and small food stores. Spending on holidays saw the biggest decline, down 50%. The trend looks set to continue into 2021, the bank said: "Ongoing restrictions, doubts about the speed of the vaccination campaign and fears of the economic consequences of this long crisis are weighing on consumer confidence."

Transport

The Walloon government has decided to shorten the practical driving test from 40 to 35 minutes to squeeze in more tests per day, as examination centres are confronted with a backlog of candidates waiting to take their driving test due to the coronavirus shutdown.

Brussels public transport operator Stib will provide a free ticket for anyone heading to their vaccination appointment (and back). Enter the personal code found on your invitiation letter on the Stib website and you will receive two codes to tap into any Stib ticket dispenser, on the "Event Pass" screen. Walloon public transport operator TEC is also providing free tickets to and from vaccination centres.

Policing

Since March, police have drawn up more than 200,000 reports for breaches of the coronavirus restrictions. People under the age of 30 accounted for 55% of all the cases. So far, more than €7.6 million in fines have been collected.

The "Draw Your Circle" movement, which has been raising awareness of the plight of young people during the coronavirus shutdown, has urged police to adopt a more sympathetic and less repressive tone. "In recent statements, there has not been much empathy towards young people," the group said. "No one is listening to their frustrations and pain. We would like to see a constructive dialogue - no water cannon, no cavalry, but a dialogue."event

After two months of intense drafting, Belgium's new "pandemic bill" has been approved by the Council of Ministers and is ready to be submitted to parliament. The bill aims to give a solid legal framework to the coronavirus restrictions - and any measures that have to be taken to contain a future pandemic. Until now, the measures have been passed by ministerial decree, without any parliamentary scrutiny.

KU Leuven virologist Marc Van Ranst has given evidence to the federal parliament's Covid committee about the threats he has received from conspiracy theorists, anti-vaccine campaigners and people generally against the coronavirus restrictions. "There are few countries where scientific experts must benefit from police protection," he said. "It is not acceptable, it is not normal. If it continues like this, you won't have any experts next time." Van Ranst has also been on the receiving end of prank phone calls: "They call me with anonymous numbers when I'm on call", he added. The virologist was even sued by an entrepreneur over a tweet in which he urged people not to visit Antwerp. "I won, but it took a long time," Van Ranst added.

An SNCB train attendant was attacked by a passenger at Brussels-North station on Saturday, after he reminder a passenger to wear a mask. The employee was not injured, but intends to file a police complaint and is in shock. The perpetrator fled the scene.

The Belgian state has filed its appeal against a Brussels court ruling ordering it to revise the legal framework surrounding the current coronavirus restrictions. A first hearing on Monday will establish the timetable for the appeal case. Until the court reaches a judgment, the initial order - that Belgium must stop using ministerial decrees to introduce coronavirus measures - remains on hold. The financial penalty for non-compliance - €5,000 per day, capped at €200,000 - is also suspended until the appeal ruling lands, which is expected no later than 30 April.

Police used water cannon, horses, dogs and pepper spray to disperse huge crowds that had gathered in the Bois de la Cambre. While large numbers have been a common sight in the wood on warm days, Thursday's overcrowding had been exacerbated by a spoof Facebook event advertising a supposed music festival there on April Fool's Day. Some media estimated the presence in the region of 5,000. Police used drones and helicopter support to manage the crowd and began to evacuate the area around 17.00. About 20 people were issued with an administrative arrest, and several dozen injured, including police officers. Brussels mayor Philippe Close said: "People need to get some fresh air, but we cannot tolerate such gatherings in the Bois de la Cambre. Thanks to the police for the hard work and to everyone who has been playing by the rules for over a year." The Brussels prosecutor's office is trying to identify who posted the satirical Facebook event announcing the 1 April music festival, with a host of international DJs including Daft Punk on a pedalo and Maggie De Block.

Another party hotspot, the Boverie park in Liège, will be closed every evening at 20.00 until at least 25 April, the city's mayor has announced, with a maximum 700 people inside at any given time.

More than 3,000 people have shown an interest on Facebook for the next edition of 'La Boum' - the gathering in the Bois de la Cambre that led to violence between partygoers and police last week. The collective L'Abîme plans a repeat for 1 May and is in contact with interior minister Annelies Verlinden to seek some form of authorisation.

The clean-up from La Boum 2 has only just happened and organisers have already submitted a request to Brussels-Ixelles police for a third edition in the Bois de la Cambre on Saturday 29 May. L'Abîme collective, La Boum's organiser, said in its request: "Studies show that there is virtually no risk of infection outside." Interior minister Annelies Verlinden says the authorities are open to a dialogue with organisers. It has been suggested that La Boum 3 could be organised as one of the government-approved "test events" which has seen several cultural venues reopen under strict conditions. Verlinden said this was a possibility, but organisers would have to submit a formal request to be considered such an event.

Wallonia's Agency for Quality Life (Aviq) has denied claims that calls made by the contact-tracing call centres are recorded without people's knowledge. A Belgian privacy protection association, the Ministry of Privacy, made the claim earlier this week. Aviq said recording the calls "would not comply with the principles of the general data protection regulation (GDPR)" - but also "the technical platform does not allow it". It is, however, possible that calls are listened to by a manager in real-time, to improve training for call centre operators.

Railway police were called out to a party on a train between Louvain-la-Neuve and Brussels. Videos from the scene show several dozen young people packed into a train carriage, singing and dancing without masks. No arrests were made, but a report has been forwarded to the Nivelles public prosecutor's office, which will decide what action to take.

Since the coronavirus crisis began, individuals and organisations have lodged 161 appeals with Belgium's supreme administrative court, the Council of State, seeking to overturn many of the country's Covid restrictions - everything from access to second homes to estate agents' viewings, the opening of casinos to whether or not a country should be classified a "red zone". Many of the cases were filed under the "extreme urgency" procedure, which leads to an accelerated judgment if the claimant can prove an imminent danger, such as a risk of bankruptcy. So what were the three most complained-about coronavirus rules? The closure of the hospitality industry (cafes, restaurants, private functions etc), the requirement to wear a mask and the restrictions on religious services. To date, 104 judgments have been delivered. Only three have ended up in the claimant's favour: the increase from 10 to 15 worshippers at church services, the reopening of campsites and holiday resorts, which had successfully argued unfair discrimination compared to the hotel industry, and the City of Brussels' ban on prostitution, which the court ruled was beyond the remit of a local mayor.

Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke has put forward a bill that would grant the Belgian state extensive emergency powers to fight against any future pandemic. "This law will lay a legal basis for what was done during the previous legislature," said Vandenbroucke. Former prime minister Sophie Wilmès acting government was granted special powers during the first wave to take decisions in the fight against coronavirus. "We want to create a legal, transparent framework."

Lawyers associations from each of Belgium's three language communities have criticised the over-use of ministerial decrees to pass coronavirus measures, without the necessary legal scrutiny and democratic approval in parliament. They argue that the rushed implementation of coronavirus decrees leaves the measures, and potential sanctions, open to interpretation. "They are constantly and rapidly changing, they often lack clarity, even coherence, and sometimes appear to be disproportionate," the lawyers say. "For the same offence, one judge may impose a heavy fine or even a prison sentence, while another gives an acquittal."

A court in Charleroi has overturned an earlier ruling which had dismissed the late-night curfew as illegal. The police court's ruling against the curfew in September was immediately appealed against by federal prosecutors. The court has now ruled that the curfew is perfectly legal, under the basis of a 2007 law on civil security which allows the interior minister to take such measures in exceptional circumstances.

Religion

Representatives from the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith communities in Brussels gathered outside Central Station to call the limit of 15 worshippers at a religious service be relaxed. "We ask that the number of people be adapted according to the surface area of our places of worship," a spokesman said. "Just as there are large museums where a lot of people are allowed in, this should also be possible in the large places of worship."

Property

Six landlords are taking the Brussels region to court in an attempt to overturn the ban on tenant evictions. For a year now, tenants have been protected from being thrown out of their home, to protect the most vulnerable during the coronavirus crisis. "We must remove this ban, it is illegal," said Eric Mathay, president of the Brussels regional branch of the National Union of Property Owners. "There are owners who cannot recover their property, even to occupy it themselves. The Brussels government is doing nothing for these people."

Care homes

The vast majority of residents in Brussels' care homes have now received their second coronavirus jab and therefore fully vaccinated. Nursing home staff are also receiving their second injections this week. Inge Neven, head of the Brussels health inspectorate, said: "87% of the residents have been vaccinated. There are still a few who missed their vaccination due to illness or for other reasons, but they can now be included in a second round of orders."

Residents in Brussels' nursing homes will gradually be able to resume certain group activities. Once the vaccination rate among residents reaches 90%, it is proposed that shared meals and activities resume, and that up to two close contacts will be allowed to visit residents in their own room.

The coronavirus crisis has cost Belgian rail operator SNCB an estimated €1 billion in lost revenue. "Before the Covid crisis, we transported 900,000 passengers per day," said chief executive Sophie Dutordoir. "In the first wave, we fell to just 10%, or 90,000 travelers. In the meantime, we are back up to 52%." The SNCB is forecasting a €400 million budget deficit for 2021.

The idea of reopening businesses and venues on a case-by-case basis, according to the safety measures they have put in place, is "very interesting", says federal minister for small business David Clarinval. "In principle, this is an excellent idea. Several months ago, we mentioned the idea of moving from crisis management to risk management. We should no longer be looking at sector-wide policies, but pilot phases. For example in Vienna, the philharmonic orchestra has just carried out a pilot project to organise a Covid-safe concert."