Malta removed from Belgium safe-list for travel

Passengers arriving in Belgium from Malta are encouraged to self-quarantine and undertake a COVID-19 test as a precautionary measure against virus-spreading. 

The decision was taken by the Belgian government on Wednesday, hours after Malta was placed on the Netherland’s orange list.

The quarantine and testing for travellers entering Belgium are not yet mandatory but simply recommended by the health authorities. The recommendation applies to non-essential travel such as tourism.

This comes after the Dutch government put Malta on the country’s orange list which advised against non-essential travel on 12 August.

Several Italian regions also imposed restrictions on people travelling from Malta in the last few days.

Malta registered 49 positive cases on Wednesday from a record 2,200 swab tests, bringing the number of active cases to 486.