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Belgium scraps almost all COVID-19 measures as crisis eases

People wearing face masks wait to enter a pharmacy in the Rue Neuve in Brussels, Belgium on Nov. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys) People wearing face masks wait to enter a pharmacy in the Rue Neuve in Brussels, Belgium on Nov. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)
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BRUSSELS -

Belgium began easing most COVID-19 restrictions Monday in the biggest move to relax measures since the onset of the crisis some two years ago.

Gone is the coronavirus passport that allows entry into bars, restaurants, theatres and cinemas, as well as capacity limits.

Facemasks, long the symbol of the pandemic, will no longer be mandatory except on public transport and in the healthcare sector.

The government announced last week that the nation of 11 million will go from code orange - the second-toughest for virus measures - to code yellow as of Monday.

Infections in the week ending March 5 fell by 24 per cent compared to the previous week and stood at 5,854 cases. New hospitalizations and intensive care cases continued to decline rapidly.

Other European countries are also relaxing their pandemic measures, as more and more governments design protocols to co-exist with the coronavirus.

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