The first confinement was three years ago. Between deprivation and adaptation, whole sections of Belgian life have been turned upside down during the coronavirus pandemic. Whether in terms of public transport, holidays, teleworking or catering, the lives of Belgians have changed a lot in three years.
Public transport has never returned to pre-covid levels
In the followingmath of the first confinement, the various public transport companies had all recorded a dizzying drop in their attendance. Three years later, Stib, Tec and SNCB have recovered well but are struggling to recover their pre-Covid level. They are running today with attendance 10 to 15% lower than in January 2020. The fault, in particular, of telework. The companies are however reassuring, in particular concerning the frequentation of weekends, stronger than before the Covid. “This means that Belgians increasingly take public transport for their leisure time”, satisfy the Stib and the SNCB. As for the car, the daily traffic jams show that it is still as popular as ever. According to a recent study by Tempo-Team in collaboration with KU Leuven, six out of ten people use their car to go to work. Or as much as before the Covid. We note, however, a drop of around 10% in traffic each day on average in Belgium, once more attributable to the massive use of teleworking.
A new containment? Six out of ten Belgians would accept it
The mental health of Belgians had been put to the test by the various confinements. Financially also for thousands of companies, especially in the world of Horeca or culture, which had to close their doors. Traumatic events that Belgians seem ready to accept once more. According to a survey carried out by us among 1,500 people, and which in no way claims to be scientific, six out of ten Belgians would still agree to relive confinement “if there was no other solution” in the event of a Covid rebound or the arrival of another virus. Only four out of ten Belgians would like to never have to undergo confinement once more.
Containment was three years ago: “I would have preferred that we take measures much earlier but less strong”, notes Dr Philippe Devos
After a disrupted holiday, the Belgians have resumed their habits
Three years ago, the confinement meant a total closure of the borders, with rare exceptions. One of the watchwords of confinement was also to respect the rules “to save the summer”. We then remember the tests to be carried out, the isolations on the spot or the European map adorned sometimes with green, sometimes with dark red. Travel to Belgium had exploded, a trend that we thought would be confirmed later. But we saw it in 2022, trips abroad are returning to pre-crisis levels, and the new school calendar makes it possible to go longer and further on All Saints’ Day or Carnival. The only real change: business trips which are still in sharp decline, and some distant countries which still require a health pass in order.
Horeca navigates from crisis to crisis
The opening (or not) of bars and restaurants was a kind of barometer of the health crisis. A real saga. The sector has experienced everything for two years: two closures, the opening of the terraces, the mask or even the health pass. Since then, the Horeca has faced other storms. There was the flight of personnel to other sectors (especially mass distribution) and the resulting lack of manpower, and then the energy crisis which weighed down the finances of bars and restaurants given the rise in energy bills, but also food bills. It is now possible to fill your restaurant every night without making a profit at the end of the month. What regarding state aid? If they have made it possible to hold on in 2020, we can no longer count on much in 2023.
Teleworking has taken hold, but not 100%
If some companies already offered it sparingly, teleworking has become the norm, with its good and bad sides. In the spring of 2020, it was thought that working from home would become the rule for at least two thirds of the week. Three years later, the return to the office has taken place massively. This is felt among other places in the Brussels ring and the bosses have sounded what some consider to be the end of recess. From now on, we are more around one or two days of teleworking per week, with powerful tools for the comfort of all, but also the possibility of adapting our schedules. According to a recent study, only 32% of teleworkers respect the famous 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule to the letter. But without necessarily working less!
