Update Corona – mandatory quarantine and test after stay in red zone

In summary, compulsory quarantine has been introduced if one has spent more than 48 hours in a red zone outside Belgium:

• All stays in red zones outside Belgium are henceforth considered to be high-risk contacts.
• As of 31 December 2020, everyone (residents and non-residents) who returns to Belgium after a stay of at least 48 hours in a red zone will have to go into quarantine. The quarantine can only be lifted after a negative Corona test on day 7 of the quarantine.
• The measures apply provisionally until 15.01.2021.
• Exceptions to these rules are:
  • Persons exercising critical functions in essential sectors (subject to a compulsory certificate from the employer);
  • Students may temporarily interrupt the quarantine in order to take an exam;
  • For residents who resided abroad for professional reasons until 4 January. From 4 January 2021, the Passenger Locator Form will take professional travel into account.
  • Cross-border workers

Residents who return from a red zone and stayed there for more than 48 hours must undergo a compulsory test on day 1 and day 7 of the quarantine.

These stricter measures come in addition to the earlier decisions of the Consultation Committee which, among other things, provided for stricter control of the Passenger Locator Form and, since 25 December 2020, required a negative test for non-residents entering Belgium.

More details can be found on https://www.info-coronavirus.be/en/news/occ-30-12