Belgium Tightens Rules for UK Passengers Arriving by Train or Bus
In an attempt to avoid the spread of infectious new strains of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Belgian government will tighten its rules for passengers arriving by train or bus from all non-EU countries, including Britain, as stated by Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden.
In addition to that, all travelers will be obliged to fill out the Passenger Locator Form (PLF) regardless of the length of their stay in Belgium, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
Persons arriving in Belgium from countries that are considered highly affected by the Coronavirus disease and do not have their main residence in Belgium will be obliged to prove a negative result of the COVID-19 test, before entering the country.
Bus and train operators will be required to check that all travelers have complied with Belgium’s new rules, before boarding.
The biostatistician Geert Molenberghs, who is linked to the Catholic University of Leuven and the University of Hasselt, believes that it is better to work on non-essential travel, to keep the Coronavirus pandemic situation under control.
His comments came after the Group of Experts’ meeting for the COVID-19 management strategy, GEMS, held on Friday.
“The experts are concerned, but you certainly cannot speak of panic. New infections have gone down in the past few days while hospitalizations and deaths continue to drop,” he pointed out.
According to him, in order to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections, all persons must avoid non-essential travel as much as possible.
“To organize that, it would be necessary to define as clearly as possible what essential travel is and who can undertake it. I’m thinking in terms of professional travel, people needing to go to school or reunited families on both sides of a common border. We won’t be able to prevent such travel,” Molenberghs pointed out.
Authorities in Belgium have registered 677,209 COVID-19 cases of infections, up to this point.
Based on Worldometers statistics, a total of 20,396 persons in Belgium have died from the Coronavirus disease, and there have been reported 609,854 active cases.
In December, Belgium’s government imposed mandatory quarantine for all persons wishing to enter the country for the year-end holidays from high-risk countries, due to the pandemic situation.
