Belgium places Noord & Zuid-Holland on Code Red over coronavirus

Anyone travelling to Belgium from the Dutch provinces of Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland will be subject to a mandatory quarantine and coronavirus test upon arrival starting on Friday. Belgium's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the two provinces will be added to their list of Red Zones beginning on Friday at 4 p.m.

Belgium forbids its residents from visiting locations on the Red Zone list for non-essential travel. The Province of Groningen was also designated as an Orange Zone area. Those visiting Belgium from orange regions are advised, but not required, to enter a 14-day quarantine and to volunteer for a coronavirus test.

The update was made during a week in which new coronavirus cases in the Netherlands has topped the total number of positive tests for the entire month of June. The majority of new cases have been identified in the Randstad, with the regions around Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Haarlem and Leiden likely to face new restrictions as early as Friday.

Groningen has also seen an increase in positive tests linked to student associations there. Flevoland, Gelderland, Limburg, Noord-Brabant and Utrecht, were already on the Belgian list of Orange Zone areas. The Dutch provinces of Drenthe, Friesland, Overijssel, and Zeeland were unchanged as Green Zones.

The areas around Budapest and Vienna were also added to the list of Red Zones, the Belgian government said.