Between 26 July and 1 August, an average of 1,603 new coronavirus infections were detected per day, a 9% increase from the average of the previous week, according to the latest figures from Sciensano Health Institute published on Thursday morning.
During the same period, the average number of deaths due to the virus increased by 57% and now sits at a daily average of 3.1, bringing the total to 25,258 deaths since the start of the pandemic in Belgium.
The daily average of testing over the past week decreased by 9% (a daily average of 54,786.3 tests were carried out), however, the positivity rate has now gone up to 3.2%, the highest it has been in months.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,132,934 cases of coronavirus infection have been diagnosed in Belgium.
Between 29 July and 4 August, there was an average of 38.4 new hospital admissions per day due to the coronavirus, a 21% increase compared to the previous reference period.
On Wednesday, a total of 369 people (two more than on Tuesday) were in hospital as a result of the coronavirus, of whom 92 (-1) people were being treated in intensive care, and 52 people (+3) were on a ventilator. Most people being hospitalised reportedly haven't been fully vaccinated.
The incidence, which indicates the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants over 14 days, is continuing to increase, albeit slightly less quickly, and has now risen by 27% since the last 14-day period, sitting at 187.6.
The reproduction rate of the coronavirus has risen to 1.12 after increasing slightly to 1.17 last week. This figure is the average number of people infected by an infected person. When the figure is higher than 1, it means the pandemic is gathering pace in Belgium.
As of Tuesday, more than seven million people (75.2% of the adult population of Belgium) have received a second dose of vaccine and are now considered fully protected.
Meanwhile, 83.7% of the adult population in Belgium had received the first injection of a coronavirus vaccine. This figure equates to just under 8.1 million people.
The Brussels Times
