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The end of the lockdown is in sight for Belgian retailers: next Tuesday, on the 1st of December, all stores may reopen. Retailers must strictly respect the known security measures, however.
Four more nights
The Belgian government is responding to the many calls and pleas from the retail sector to have the stores reopened: from Tuesday 1 December, all physical stores – including non-essential stores – will be allowed to reopen. A conscious decision was taken to reopen on a weekday, rather than, for example, on a Saturday as is the case in France, in order to avoid a rush.
In addition, storekeepers and municipal authorities will have a more time to prepare themselves. The Council of Ministers insists that shopping must be safe and responsible, and that all safety regulations must be respected. These safety conditions include the now familiar measures: customers must keep a minimum distance of 1.5 metres and there is a maximum of one customer per 10 square metres.
According to newspaper La Libre, customers are also asked to shop on their own and the time in the shop is limited to a maximum of half an hour. Curfew is maintained, as is the ban on alcohol sales after 20 hours. Retailers will again have to manage the queues outside themselves.
