COVID-19 information for International Conferences & Events

Belgium has installed a corona barometer, an instrument for proactive policy preparation and communication. It is intended to give the sectors concerned more predictability, structure decision making of the Governments’ Consultation Committee and make the decision process more transparent.

The corona barometer has three phases -code yellow, orange and red- that reflect the pressure on the healthcare system.

In determining the code, the Consultative Committee will, in addition to the pressure on care, also take into account a global evaluation of the epidemiological situation and pay specific attention to mental health.

When determining measures, a distinction is always made between activities that take place indoors/outdoors and those that are non-dynamic/dynamic. Below, you will find all detailed measures:

More detailed information is available on the following websites:

International travel

The ban on non-essential travel from outside the European Union is lifted, as well as the obligation to test on days 1 and 7, the 10-day quarantine and the ability to present a Passenger Locator Form or and valid vaccination, recovery or testing certificate.

This does not apply to travelers coming from a country with a new Variant of Concern. The current rules will continue to apply to them.

Depending on your country of departure, different measures apply.
We advise you to check, before your departure, the website www.reopen-eu.be where you will find the latest travel advice according to your travel plan (based on country of departure and country of arrival).
Take into consideration the countries through which you will be travelling.

Local mobility 

Face masks or a scarf covering the mouth and nose are no longer mandatory at bus/tram stops, in train stations and on board the vehicles of Belgian Public Transportation, for travellers aged 12 and older.
Here is more information about trams and busses and trains in Belgium.

Information about the cities and regions 

Our cities and regions implement the measures of the Belgian government rigorously to contain the further spread of the coronavirus and protect risk groups. You can find the latest information about each city and region, as well as contact details of their MICE team here. 

Find here more information on restaurants, guided tours and cultural events.

Flanders offers some of the highest-quality health care services in the world. The national health care system provides benefits for hospital, medical, pharmaceutical, some allied services and ambulance during your stay.

The Belgian State health care system provides in free emergency care for visiting EU citizens, under the same terms as locals, using the European Health Insurance Card, EHIC (formerly E111).
Non EU citizens need a private health insurance to be able to recuperate possible costs. For tourists it is part of their travel insurance. A private health insurance is also necessary for EU citizens who want to cover non-emergency care plus (like repatriation etc.).

What to do when you get ill?

If you have any of the following symptoms (cough, respiratory problems, fever, aches and pains, fatigue, loss of smell or taste, diarrhoea), please follow these steps:

• Stay at the accommodation / holiday residence / hotel … (even if your symptoms are mild). 
• Inform the owner/manager who will call a general practitioner (GP) and report your symptoms. 
• Don't go to the GP or to a hospital accident & emergency unit on your own initiative. 
• The GP will tell you by phone what to do. E.g. to go to your GP practice or a triage centre for a test. 
• Make a list of all the people you came in close contact with. 
• Did you test positive? A government employee will call you to start the contact tracing. 

https://www.info-coronavirus.be/en/if-you-are-sick/

Testing Procedure

If the GP suspects that you have COVID-19, they will test you or refer you to the local triage centre. The test will be sent to the lab for analysis that same day.

Stay at the accommodation / holiday residence / hotel …  as long as you haven’t received the test results. In the meantime, your GP will ask you to make a list of all the people you came into contact with up to two days before your symptoms began. This list will only be used if your test is positive, as part of the contact follow-up.

You will always receive your test results, regardless of whether the outcome is positive or negative. Did you test positive? Your health condition will be closely monitored, and you will be prescribed the necessary treatment. The contact centre will take the necessary steps to inform the people close to you and your contacts that they may have been exposed to a COVID-19 carrier. 

https://www.info-coronavirus.be/en/testing/

Contact Tracing

In order to avoid COVID-19 once again spreading throughout the population, we are performing contact tracing.

If somebody falls ill due to the virus that causes COVID-19, we ask that sick person for the names of people he has been in contact with. It is, after all, possible that those people are infected with the virus.

We then phone or visit those contacts. We provide advice on what they should do to prevent them from infecting other people in their immediate vicinity. The more infections we can avoid in this way, the better. 

https://www.info-coronavirus.be/en/contact-tracing/#symptoms