Illustration: James Arthur Gekiere / Belga
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The quarantine rules for under-12s have been adjusted several times in the past few days. For example, they were initially linked to the vaccination status of the adults with whom the children live. If one of the adults concerned was not fully vaccinated, then different rules applied to the children.
That caused a lot of confusion and was very difficult to implement in practice, according to the Institute for Public Health Sciensano. That is why the Interministerial Conference on Public Health, together with the Ministers of Education, have agreed on a simplification.
From Monday, if there is a case of corona infection within the family, children must be in quarantine for ten days. However, they are allowed to leave the apartment after seven days if they take a negative self-test every day and wear a face mask indoors from the age of six. If the children then develop symptoms, a test must be carried out by a trained person.
Children who have had a corona infection within the last five months do not have to be quarantined, but special precautions apply to them: they must always wear a mask indoors from the age of six and limit their contacts, especially with people at risk.
With the adjustment of the quarantine rule, all children are treated equally. Whether their parents are vaccinated and what their vaccination status is no longer plays a role.
schb/jp
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