It’s not just Spain that has become a travel outcast in Europe, added to the red list of some neighbors. Belgium has just banned tourism to several parts of France, Spain and Switzerland, and its red zone is growing as the Covid outbreak worsens.
With much of Europe in the grips of a coronavirus resurgence, a number of countries are sweeping in new restrictions for travel to and from parts of the continent. Even closing borders and banning all but essential travel to some countries, or regions within them.
While Belgium is experiencing a large increase in new instances at home, it also prohibits ensuring that Europeans suffer a worsening crown crisis. On Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs strengthened its red list, adding portions from Switzerland, France, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania and Lithuania.
That means all non-essential travel to those areas is out of the question. Anyone returning or arriving from red list areas, must be tested for Covid and quarantine says the government.
“Red zones are municipalities, districts, cities, regions or countries that have been blocked across the country in question or where Belgian tourists are at the greatest threat of infection. For these areas, Belgium has implemented a formal ban.
“People returning from these spaces will be treated as ‘high-risk contacts’, who must be tested and quarantined or self-insulated.”
The irony is, of course, that Belgian travellers also pose a threat to the rest of Europe with degrees of infection as they are now. This resolution comes at a time when Belgium registers on average more than 500 new Covid-19 infections consistent with the day – an increase of 60% in a week.
Belgium has also expanded its list of “orange zones”, places where it is suggested to train with greater caution. Last week, Northern Ireland, Wales and 4 regions of the north of England were on the orange list.
Belgium is also experiencing a strong accumulation of hospitalizations, with a total number of crown cases exceeding 70,000 – the sixth-worst epidemic to date in the EU. According to Deutsche Welle, the number of patients in intensive care has doubled by one month. Health officials warn that “other younger people are responsible for most new infections.”
The outcast Swiss trio are up in arms about the Belgium decision. Just like Spain is about it being removed from the U.K. quarantine-free travel list. And for similar reasons: they say the move unjustly damages tourism, while cases in Belgium are far worse. At least Belgium is honing in on region’s not whole countries. This has been the criticism levelled at Britain with its blanket ban on Spain.
Cantonal officials have branded it “incomprehensible” and want the federal government to to intervene. Over the last 14 days, the cumulative rate of infection in the Vaud is 23 per 100,000 inhabitants, 10 in 100,000 in the Valais. Whereas in Belgium, that figure is 44 reports Swiss Info. “So Vaud’s rate is almost half Belgium’s.”
Switzerland’s criteria on deciding on a “risk zone” is an infection rate of 60 per 100,000 inhabitants. That’s based on a fortnight trend, and fairly high compared to the EU yardstick of around 20. That’s the average the bloc uses in deciding which countries it reopens its borders for tourism.
Could more regions in France soon be red-listed by Belgium? As new daily infections hit over 1,000 a day, compared to as low as 250 a day in July.
Leading fitness experts in France warn that the virus is “circulating more actively again”, due to a lack of respect for social distance and the use of masks.
More French regions have already been added to Belgium’s orange list last week. Joining Greater Paris (excluding Seine and Marne) and the Countries of the Loire are the Department of the North, the Upper Rhine, the Haute-Savoie, Meurthe and Moselle and the Vosges. This means that covid quarantine and a check are not when you return from those areas.
There is still no motion from Switzerland or France to return to prohibit travel in Belgium. However, amid discussions about a imaginable wave of moment across Europe, this could be a sign of what’s to come. More countries may also decide to move up places, at least high-risk areas, to prohibited areas.
I have 3 decades of pleasure as a journalist, foreign correspondent and writer-photographer. Working for printing, virtual and radio on 4 continents,
I have 3 decades of pleasure as a journalist, foreign correspondent and travel writer and photographer. Working for print, virtual and radio media on 4 continents, I am also an experienced hotel journalist and writer of travel guides and cultural histories in Australia, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Borneo. Deep on the road between my Parisian and Australian bases, I write for Forbes with a globetrotter attitude and a topicality in travel, culture, hospitality, art and architecture. My hobby is to capture the unique people, places and occasions I encounter along the way, whether in words and images. I have a bachelor’s degree in professional writing from the University of Canberra, a master’s degree in European journalism from Robert Schuman University in Strasbourg and a member of the Society of American Travel Writers. Love for my wild local island of Tasmania fuels my commitment to sustainable travel and conservation.