Brussels, Mar 10 (IANS): From March 17, Belgium will lift the test or quarantine requirement for people who came in contact with Covid-19 infected persons, according to the country's health authorities.

However, a daily self-test and the wearing of face masks for at least seven days after the high-risk contact are still strongly recommended, reports Xinhua news agency.

Those who show symptoms of Covid-19 should get tested and isolate themselves if they test positive, the Ministers said.

Belgium switched to "code yellow" on its coronavirus barometer on March 4 as the country's epidemiological situation was deemed favourable.

At their meeting on Wednesday, the authorities also discussed prolonging the Covid-19 vaccination campaign and rolling out a second booster dose next autumn, starting with nursing home residents and people above the age of 75.

The number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients in the country has increased by 3 per cent since last week to 2,007.

Of them, 197 are in intensive care.

Since the start of the pandemic, Belgium has recorded 3,609,122 confirmed coronavirus infections and 30,313 deaths.