The number of new Covid-19 infections in Brussels Region is stagnating, according to provisional data from the Sciensano public health institute updated on Tuesday morning.
The Region currently counts 17,099 confirmed cases, out of a total 115,353 in Belgium.
An average of 309 new infections per day were recorded in Brussels between 19 and 25 September, which is exactly the same number as the week before. That suggests that the peak in Brussels may have been reached.
The percentage of positive tests, however, remains high. With more than 10% of tests taken in the Region turning out positive, Brussels’ percentage is more than twice as high as in the rest of the country.
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Brussels is also responsible for a third of new hospital admissions in the country, according to virologist Steven Van Gucht. On 27 September, Brussels’ hospitals counted 210 Covid-19 patients, which is a 9.5% increase compared to the previous day. 44 of those patients are in intensive care.
At a municipal level, infections continue to rise, with Saint-Josse-ten-Noode rising to an incidence of 626 new Covid-19 cases per 100,000, making it the municipality with the worst incidence in the country. The city’s municipalities of Koekelberg, Molenbeek and Ganshoren are also among the ten most affected municipalities.
The city took additional measures recently to curb the spread of the virus, with bars now forced to close at 11:00 PM instead of 1:00 AM, and shops that sell food and drink having to close at 10:00 PM, which was already the case for night shops.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
