The Belgian government is also considering permitting people to have a designated list of people they can visit in order to keep the risk of transmitting COVID-19 low.

Psychologist Dr. Linda Papadopoulos said that people who have been locked down for two months unable to see friends or family "will see it as progress and a welcome development."

However, the proposal is completely unenforceable without draconian state monitoring and surveillance.

"From a psychological perspective, I am not sure that it works at all," said Rory Sutherland, a behavioral scientist and vice chairman of the advertising agency Ogilvy. "Any group assembling could simply claim that everyone present was part of the same cluster, and without spectacular levels of bureaucracy, it would be impossible to establish the veracity of this. It would re-establish the sight of large groups of people as a norm."

"I think it falls into that category of "excellent science, bad policy," he added.