Today (5 February) the Belgian governments met to discuss the coronavirus situation and decided to allow hairdressing salons to reopen under strict conditions from 13 February  and also that outdoor activities in animal parks and zoos will also be authorized from that date.

Currently, the coronavirus situation in Belgium remains mixed. The number of infections has remained stable since December, while the number of hospitalisations and deaths is decreasing slightly. However, there is a need to prevent the spread of more contagious variants of the virus and therefore extreme caution is still required.

However, the government recognises that care of the person undeniably contributes to better social and mental well-being. For this reason the gradual reopening of non-medical contact professions will be allowed. Hairdressers will be able to resume their activities from Saturday 13 February. Other non-medical contact trades, such as beauty, massage and nail salons, may restart from 1 March.

Strict conditions

However, the reopening of non-medical contact professions will be subject to very strict conditions and reinforced protocols. These include:

• A waiting time of 10 minutes between two treatments, for cleaning and disinfection of the treatment area
• Strictly by appointment only
• Customers must wait outside not within premises
• Thee must be sufficient ventilation, for example by opening windows and doors
• The ban on at home services continues

Animal parks, holiday homes and real estate

From 13 February, animal parks will be able to open their doors according to the same rules as natural parks. This means, among other things, that only outdoor activities are allowed and that strict access control must be provided.

From 8 February, following the ruling of the Council of State of 2 February, holiday homes in holiday parks, bungalow parks and campsites will be able to resume their activities under the same restrictive conditions as other types of holiday accommodation. This means, among other things, that their restaurants, bars and other communal facilities will have to remain closed.

It was confirmed that visits to properties from 13 February in the context of real estate activities of professional real estate agents will be authorised.

The next meeting of the Consultation Committee is scheduled for Friday 26 February.