In Belgium, on Wednesday, the Interministerial Conference (IMC) has made the announcement that the nation will no longer require all persons who have had a high-risk contact to be quarantined as of Thursday, March 17.
On Monday, the Belgian authorities have made the decision to switch the code of the Coronavirus barometer to yellow, which will further end the majority of the measures that were made for the betterment of the society as well as the safety and protection of the people.
On the other hand, the cabinet of the Flemish Health Minister Woulter Beke has given the confirmation that in the coming Thursday, the nations’ various health minister has made the decision to relax the quarantine policy.
The federal health minister Frank Vandenbroucke mentioned on Wednesday, “As far as testing is concerned, nothing changes: if you have symptoms, you have to get tested. That is very important,” adding the people that are tested positive still have to be self-isolated for seven days has declared in the Consultative Committee in the last week.
He further added, “What we are changing is the quarantine strategy. But the virus is still here, so caution remains important.”
Along with this, the people who have has a high-risk contact will no longer be needed to get tested for COVID-19 infection or quarantine from the upcoming Thursday.
Currently, this was already the case for fully vaccinated individuals, but not for partially or unvaccinated ones.
On the other hand, the people that have the high-risk contact within their household (vaccinated or not) are still strongly recommended to wear a face mask when coming into the connection with others, such as the people that are outside the household, for a maximum seven days after the high-risk contact.
Furthermore, if this is not possible, a day-to-day self-test is advised for all individuals of the age six years old and over.