The decrease in the number of new coronavirus infections in Belgium is now also being confirmed in the Covid-19 hospitalisation figures, which have stopped their increase.
Between 28 January and 3 February, an average of 31,548 Covid-19 infections were recorded each day, a 37% decrease compared to the previous week, according to preliminary figures from the Sciensano Health Insitute, distributed by the cabinet of Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke on Monday morning.
During the same week, 614,832 tests were carried out in Belgium of which 255,745 had a positive result. The positivity ratio in that period was 41.6%, which means that almost around four in ten tests were positive.
Between 26 January and 1 February, an average of 34 people died each day due to Covid-19. In total, there have already been 29,227 deaths as a result of the virus in Belgium.
"The increase is mainly in the over-85s, both inside and outside residential care centres," virologist Steven Van Gucht outlined during a press conference on Friday. "Among the elderly, the number of infections is rising: among people over 80, it even increased by 23%."
Passed peak, also in hospitals
Between 31 January and 6 February, an average of 347 patients with the coronavirus were admitted to hospitals each day, down from 360 this time last week.
However, overall, weekend admissions are often lower than during the week (especially compared to Mondays), which results in a lower average number.
This number reflects how many people end up in hospital specifically because of the virus, not people who end up in hospital with another condition and then test positive for the coronavirus.
On Sunday, 4,130 Covid-19 patients were being treated in hospital – 128 more than on Saturday. This number does include all patients who tested positive for Covid-19, including those who were first admitted with a different condition.
The number of people in intensive care has slightly increased to 430. “We expect the ICU occupancy to start falling again over the course of this month,” said Van Gucht.
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The decrease in infections is also reflected in the reproduction rate (Rt), which dropped below 1 and now sits at 0.98 (this figure was last updated on Saturday). If this number is below 1, it means that the virus is losing ground in the country.
Meanwhile, as of Thursday (the last available data), more than 8.88 million people have been fully vaccinated, which equates to 77% of the total population and 90% of over-18s.
Around 6.62 million people have received a booster dose, the equivalent of 58% of the entire population, and 71% of all adults in Belgium.
Sciensano does not publish an update of all figures on its dashboard on Sunday and Monday, meaning some figures are not yet officially confirmed. A full update of the official figures will be published on Tuesday morning.
