The Covid-19 situation in Belgium is continuing to worsen, with new infections reaching almost 7,700 per day, figures last recorded in mid-April.
Between 2 and 8 July, an average of 7,692 new daily Covid-19 infections was identified: a 39% increase from the previous seven days and the highest in three months, according to figures published by the Sciensano Institute of Public Health on Tuesday morning.
The average number of tests taken per day also increased, albeit more slowly, to over 22,200, up by 18% since last week. The positivity rate has risen to 36.1%, meaning more than one in three tests has a positive result.
Omicron BA.5 has become the dominant strain, accounting for 76.4% of all infections. The strain is said to be no more or less infectious than the other Omicron subvariants but it does succeed very well in circumventing people’s accumulated immunity.
Deaths as a result of infection rose slightly but are now once again starting to decrease; 7.7 patients suffering from Covid-19 died each day over the past seven days – down by 5% from the previous week.
The total number of deaths in Belgium since the start of the pandemic amounts to 32,015. However, this figure includes people who died of another cause but who happened to be infected, meaning that this is an overestimate of deaths attributed to Covid-19.
Situation in Belgian hospitals
In the last seven days, an average of 142.7 patients suffering from Covid-19 were admitted to hospitals each day — up by 18% from the previous seven days, which means the increase is slowing down slightly.
The figure, which hasn't been this high since the end of April, reflects how many people are hospitalised directly because of the virus, not those admitted with another condition and then also test positive for Covid-19.
Credit: Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga
On Monday, a total of 1,951 people were in Belgian hospitals due to an infection, almost 300 more than Thursday last week, while the number of people being treated in intensive care rose to 88 (+1).
This number covers all patients who tested positive for Covid-19, including those who were first admitted with a different condition.
Reproduction rate, incidence, and total vaccinations
The reproduction rate once again decreased to 1.07 after increasing to 1.18 on Friday. This figure represents the average number of people that contract the virus from each infected person. When it is above 1, it means that the epidemic is gaining ground in Belgium.
The incidence (the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants) also continues to rise and now sits at 800 over the past 14 days.
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As of Saturday, more than 9.09 million people are fully vaccinated – 89% of Belgium's adult population and 78% of the total population. This figure was higher, but since the end of June, this figure takes into account vaccinated people who died.
Meanwhile, almost 7.17 million people have received a booster dose of the vaccine, representing 76% of over-18s and 62% of the entire population.
