Between 31 July and 6 August, there was an average of 40.9 new hospital admissions per day due to the coronavirus, a 23% increase compared to the previous reference period, according to the latest figures from Sciensano Health Institute published on Saturday morning.
On Friday, a total of 382 people (11 more than on Wednesday) were in hospital as a result of the coronavirus, of whom 98 (+4) people were being treated in intensive care, and 54 people (+2) were on a ventilator. Most people being hospitalised reportedly haven't been fully vaccinated.
During the same period, the average number of deaths due to the virus increased by 42% and now sits at a daily average of 3.9, bringing the total to 25,268 deaths since the start of the pandemic in Belgium.
The daily average of testing over the past week decreased by 1% (a daily average of 55,840.1 tests were carried out), however, the positivity rate has now gone up to 3.3%, the highest it has been in months.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,136,726 cases of coronavirus infection have been diagnosed in Belgium.
Between 28 July and 3 August, an average of 1,672.3 new coronavirus infections were detected per day, an 18% increase from the average of the previous week,
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 14% since the last 14-day period, sitting at 188.0.
The reproduction rate of the coronavirus has dropped to 1.13 after increasing to 1.19 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 Thursday, more than seven million people (76.9% of the adult population of Belgium) have received a second dose of vaccine and are now considered fully protected.
Meanwhile, 83.9% of the adult population in Belgium had received the first injection of a coronavirus vaccine. This figure equates to just over 8.1 million people.
The Brussels Times
