The average daily number of people who tested positive for Covid-19 has now passed below 1,500 for the first time since September, according to the latest figures from the Sciensano Public Health Institute updated on Monday morning.
On Sunday, a total of 967 people were in hospital as a result of the coronavirus (12 fewer than on Saturday), of whom 330 (-6) people were being treated in intensive care, and 204 (-8) were on a ventilator.
The number of ICU cases has now fallen far below the threshold of 500 set by the Consultative Committee as the boundary at which it would be safe to open up more of society starting from Wednesday.
Between 30 May and 5 June, there was an average of 74.1 new hospital admissions per day due to the coronavirus, a 15% decrease compared to the previous reference period, and the breach of another threshold set for relaxation of measures.
Between 28 May and 3 June, an average of 1,475 new coronavirus infections were detected per day, down by 20% compared to the previous week, continuing a period of almost uninterrupted decline, and passing through the 1,500 mark for the first time since mid-September.
Meanwhile, the daily average of testing over the past week increased by 2% (an average of 44,956 tests were carried out) with a positive rate of 3.9% (down by 0.9%).
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,070,802 cases of coronavirus infection have been diagnosed in Belgium.
During the period 28 May to 3 June, an average of 14.4 people died per day from the virus (no change from the previous week), bringing the total to 25,033 deaths since the start of the pandemic in Belgium.
The incidence, which indicates the average number of new cases per day per 100,000 inhabitants, reached 202.4, down by 29%.
The reproduction rate of the coronavirus in Belgium has gone up to 0.89 after nearing 0.80 last week. While this number remains below 1, it means that the epidemic gradually slowing down. The number has been lower than 1 since 22 April.
As of Sunday, more than half of the adult population in Belgium (54.8%) had received the first injection of a coronavirus vaccine. This figure equates to more than five million people.
Of these, 2,501,465 people (27.1% of the adult population in Belgium) have received a second dose and are now considered fully protected.
The Brussels Times
