The average number of new coronavirus infections in Belgium has stabilised and is starting to slowly decrease, however, the number of deaths continues to rise.
Between 1 and 7 September, an average of 1,936 new coronavirus infections were detected per day, a 5% decrease compared with the previous week, according to the latest figures from the Sciensano Public Health Institute on Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, an average of 39,449.9 tests were performed daily, with a positivity rate of 5.4%, unchanged from last week.
During the same period, an average of 7.6 people died per day from the virus, up by 51% since last week. This brings the total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in Belgium to 25,454.
Between 4 and 10 September, on average, 67.4 patients suffering from Covid-19 were admitted per day, a 2% increase compared to the previous week.
On Friday, a total of 703 people remained in hospitals due to an infection (five fewer than on Thursday), including 228 patients being treated in intensive care (+12), with 116 on a ventilator (+1).
As a result of increasing hospitalisations, Belgian hospitals have to switch back to phase 1A by next week, meaning they have to reserve 25% of intensive care beds for Covid patients, it was announced on Wednesday.
The virus reproduction rate has slightly dropped again to 0.99. This figure represents the average number of people infected by each infected person, and when it is higher than 1, it means that the epidemic is spreading more quickly.
The incidence, which indicates the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, increased slightly and has now reached 242 over the past 14 days.
As of Thursday, almost 8.48 million people in Belgium have received a first dose of the vaccine, representing 86% of the adult population, and 74% of the total population.
Meanwhile, more than 8.23 million people are fully vaccinated, accounting for 84% of the adult population in Belgium, and 71% of the total population.
The Brussels Times
