Travel from January 27 to March 1 for leisure / vacationer functions from and to Belgium will likely be prohibited, determined the session committee on Friday. Shopping, is it thought of an essential journey? According to our data, it is sure, however on situation of dwelling at most 20 kilometers from the border.
From January 27 to 1er March, journey to and from Belgium will solely be allowed for essential journey. Travel for skilled and humanitarian functions or for household causes will profit from an exception. Via the orange Alert us button, a lot of you ask us if you happen to can cross the border to buy groceries, since you reside proper subsequent to one other nation.
Petra De Sutter, Deputy Prime Minister, in control of Public Enterprises and Civil Service (Groen), answered this query on the set of C’est pas tous les jours dimanche. “If you live in border regions, yes. If we used to shop on the other side of the border, there is no problem, she explained. If of course, we come from the other side of Belgium to go to France, that would not be essential. We have to look at what is possible and what is not. We did not want to make life more difficult for people who really live in border towns, border areas“.
A extra exact situation: reside inside a radius of 20km round the border
The query was mentioned once more in the RTL INFO 19H. Our journalist Céline Gransard contacted the authorities to reply your query. According to our data, a extra exact situation has been determined: you have to reside at most 20 kilometers from the border. In different phrases, if you happen to reside in Brussels, there is no query of going procuring in France or the Netherlands. This rule applies to all actions licensed in Belgium (supermarkets, outfitters, and many others.). On the different hand, it is strongly suggested not to cross the border to go to an exercise prohibited with us (a hairdressing salon for instance).
Pay consideration to French guidelines
Remember that the journey ban is a Belgian rule. When you enter French territory, you have to additionally adjust to French guidelines.
As the Belgian Foreign Affairs website, France advises in opposition to non-essential journey. “In addition, France has announced the obligation to present, from January 24, a negative PCR test of less than 72 hours to enter its territory.“, signifies our Foreign Affairs.
This obligation to current a damaging check doesn’t apply to cross-border employees, street hauliers and border residents. “People living on the Franco-Belgian border […] do not have to go into quarantine or perform a Covid-19 test. […] These people are authorized to move on either side of the border to go to their place of work or to carry out their usual or occasional local activities (e.g. shopping, visiting a family member or acquaintance , medical check-up, recreational activity …)“, additional specify the authorities.
It stays to be seen whether or not the French police use the similar 20 km rule to outline a border …
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