page_title: COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium
section_title: Containment measures
hierarchical_section_title: COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium / Government response / Containment measures
caption_attribution_description: English: Border (rue de la Marlière) in Mouscron, Belgium closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This border separates Mouscron from Wattrelos and Tourcoing, France. Français&#160;: Frontière (rue de la Marlière) à Mouscron, Belgique fermée, en raison de la pandémie du Covid-19. Cette frontière sépare Mouscron de Wattrelos et Tourcoing, France.
context_page_description: The COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium forms part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have spread to Belgium on 4 February 2020, when a Belgian national out of a group of nine Belgians repatriated from Wuhan to Brussels was reported to have tested positive for the coronavirus. Transmission within Belgium was then confirmed in early March; authorities linked this to holidaymakers returning from Northern Italy at the end of the half-term holidays. The epidemic increased rapidly in March–April 2020. By the end of March all 10 provinces of the country had registered cases.
  As of 25 June, the Belgian authorities had reported 61,007 confirmed cases, with a total of 9,726 deaths and at least 17,688 discharged patients. The actual number of infections, however, is likely to be much higher than the number of diagnosed cases, as laboratory tests are limited to specific people and/or people with severe symptoms, and because many people with mild or no symptoms do not seek medical help, even as they are likely to be transmitting the virus.
context_section_description: On 29 January, Belgium issued a travel notice advising against non-essential flights to China, Hong Kong excluded, with some travel companies cancelling all flights to China.
  On 1 March, as a second case of coronavirus was confirmed in Belgium, phase 2 of the health risk containment strategy was activated. The mayor of Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe, Olivier Maingain, was one of the only mayors to take measures to prevent the spreading of the new coronavirus by restricting access to schools, sports facilities and public places for persons returning from areas at risk and only a few schools, such as the International School Ghent, quarantined pupils returning from infected areas, such as Northern Italy.
  On 10 March, the government advised citizens to cancel any indoor scheduled events to be attended by more than 1,000 people for the month of March. Prime Minister Wilmès stressed this was not an interdiction but rather a recommendation. Schools remained open but are advised to cancel both trips abroad and multi-day excursions in general. Companies were advised to have their personnel work from home as much as possible and allow flexible working times to allow a better spread of public transport use throughout the day. The authorities called this reinforced phase 2.
  Late in the evening on 12 March, after a meeting of the National Security Council, the Belgian government moved into the federal phase of crisis management, and ordered the closure of schools, discos, cafes and restaurants, and the cancellation of all public gatherings for sporting, cultural or festive purposes from Friday 13 March at midnight onwards. It was stressed that the measures taken were not a lockdown because people were not required to stay home.
  On 17 March, the National Security Council decided to take additional measures, based on the spread of COVID-19 in Belgium and on recommendations of experts. Stricter social distancing measures were imposed from noon the following day until 5 April, with non-essential travel prohibited, non-essential shops to close, gatherings banned, with penalties for corporate and individual persons who failed to comply with the restrictions.
  On 20 March at 3 pm Belgium closed its borders to all non-essential travel. Earlier, the governor of West Flanders had complained about Dutch and French citizens coming to Belgium for tourism or shopping, while mayors of municipalities close to the border with the Netherlands such as Paul Van Miert of Turnhout urged their Dutch counterparts to request their national authorities in the Netherlands to implement similar measures as in Belgium, to stop Belgian citizens going to Dutch cafés or restaurants. From 25 March onwards, people arriving at Brussels Airport were handed a leaflet with the compelling advice to quarantine themselves for a fortnight.
  On 27 March, the National Security Council and the governments decided to extend the measures until 19 April (end of the Easter vacation). On 15 April, the containment measures were extended until the 3 May.
caption: Concrete blocks in Mouscron, used to avoid all non-essential travel between France and Belgium (27 March 2020)
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