New cases, admissions and deaths down as restrictions take hold

New cases, admissions and deaths down as restrictions take hold
© Belga

Fewer than 2,500 coronavirus patients in Belgium are in hospital as the increase of daily average new coronavirus infections continues to slow down, according to the latest figures published by the Sciensano public health institute on Saturday.

Between 16 and 22 December, an average of 2,378.4 new people tested positive per day over the past week, which is a 6% decrease compared to the week before.

The total number of confirmed cases in Belgium since the beginning of the pandemic is 637,246. The total reflects all people in Belgium who have been infected, and includes confirmed active cases as well as patients who have since recovered, or died as a result of the virus.

Over the past two weeks, 298.9 infections were confirmed per 100,000 inhabitants, which is a 12% increase compared to the two weeks before.

Between 17 and 23 December, an average of 173 patients was admitted to hospital, which is 7% fewer than the week before.

In total, 2,283 coronavirus patients are currently in hospital, or 190 fewer than yesterday. Of all patients, 511 are in intensive care, the same number as yesterday. A total of 300 patients are on a ventilator – one more than yesterday.

From 16 to 22 December, an average number of 87.7 deaths occurred per day, marking a 9.2% decrease compared to the week before.

The total number of deaths in the country since the beginning of the pandemic is currently 19.089.

Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 6.8 million tests have been carried out. Of those tests, an average of over 38,600 were taken per day over the past week, with a positivity rate of 7.4%.

The percentage went down by 0.8% compared to last week, along with a 10% increase in testing.

The reproduction rate, finally, is now 0.95, which means that a person infected with coronavirus infects just under one other person on average.

The Brussels Times


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