Updated 8.15pm with details on how travel is still possible -

Malta has once again been placed on Belgium’s red travel list, according to the Belgian Foreign Affairs website, although that does not mean travel will be banned. 

Belgium had initially banned travel to and from Malta on August 14, describing Malta as a risky country.

Earlier in September, Malta had been taken off the red list and placed on Belgium’s amber list, advising “increased vigilance” about travel to and from the island. 

Although Malta is now back on the red list, Belgium recently decided that as from this Friday, travelling from Belgium to red zones will no longer be forbidden but “strongly discouraged.”

People returning from a red zone are still required to get tested but a previous quarantine period of 14 days has been reduced to seven.  

According to the European Centre for Disease Control, Malta as of Wednesday ranked fifth across the EU in terms of the number of virus cases per 100,000 people over a 14-day period. 

Malta's rate of 144.7 is marginally worse than Belgium's 132.3, which leaves that country sixth on the ECDC list. 

Since the number of cases spiked in August, several countries have marked Malta as an unsafe country, imposing a series of restrictions on arrivals, including quarantine and obligatory testing. This was another blow for Malta’s tourism industry, which had already been struggling after months of closures all over the world.