Airlines are announcing the cancellation of all or most flights out of and to Brussels Airport in Zaventem. The move is in keeping with the federal government’s recommendation that people not travel abroad because of the coronavirus. Brussels Airlines has cancelled all of its flights to and from...

Belgium is showing its support for frontline workers by applauding and encouraging their efforts during the coronavirus crisis. Thousands of people took to their balconies, terraces and windows on Wednesday evening in a movement that is spreading across the country via social media. Citizens...

According to KU Leuven epidemiologist Annemie Vandamme, the current measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Belgium will have to be extended long past 5 April. The peak of the infections will only be reached in about two weeks’ time, she told Radio 1. But there is good news, she said. “We...

A new method for diagnosing Covid-19 has been developed by the University of Namur (UNamur), reports RTBF. If approved, up to 500 tests a day could be carried out in the Walloon capital. In collaboration with KULeuven (KUL), the protocol is in the process of being approved by the Federal Agency for...

Belgium has told all residents to stay at home, from 12.00 tomorrow (Wednesday 18 March), to limit the spread of coronavirus. The measure will apply until 5 April, but could be extended. Police will be responsible for ensuring the confinement is respected. Belgian prime minister Sophie Wilmès said...

What do you do with 10,000 extra meatballs? This was the question facing Wim Ballieu at the weekend. Ballieu is the owner of Balls & Glory, the meatball eatery based in Ghent but with seven outlets across Belgium, including Brussels and Namur. His oversized stuffed meatballs – which come with...

Face masks are rapidly becoming a focus in efforts to manage the coronavirus epidemic in Belgium. A large delivery was confirmed by the federal government yesterday, while initiatives have begun to ensure the masks already in circulation make it to hospitals, where they are most needed. Wearing a...

The telephone doesn’t stop ringing a t Vivre Chez Soi, a domestic care provider for the elderly in Watermael-Boitsfort. C aregivers were called into an extraordinary meeting on Friday morning. Along with the wider medical profession, Vivre Chez Soi will have a special role to play in protecting the...

Belgian fashion chain JBC, sports retailer Decathlon and telecoms provider Proximus have decided to shut their retail outlets seven days a week and not just in the weekend, as currently required by measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. “The virus doesn’t just spread in the weekends,”...

Belgium's caretaker federal government, led by prime minister Sophie Wilmès, has been granted special powers for six months to steer the country through the coronavirus crisis. Wilmès' government will be able to unilaterally pass legislation, by royal decree, without full scrutiny by the Belgian...