The number of hospitalisations as a result of the coronavirus in Belgium has once again started to increase alongside the average number of infections, which reached almost 2,300 per day.
Between 8 and 14 October, on average 60.4 patients suffering from Covid-19 were admitted to hospitals per day, a 5% increase since the previous week, according to the latest figures published by the Sciensano Public Health Institute on Friday morning.
On Thursday, a total of 790 people were in hospitals due to an infection (11 more than on Wednesday), including 192 patients being treated in intensive care (-9), with 103 on a ventilator (-1).
Meanwhile, the average number of new coronavirus infections continues to rise as well, as between 4 and 11 October, an average of 2,277 cases were identified every day, a 19% increase from the previous seven days.
The average number of tests taken has increased slightly to 45,000, while the positivity rate has also risen, now sitting at 5.3%, up by 0.6% since last week.
During the same period, an average of 10.7 people died per day from the virus, a 47% increase compared to last week. This brings the total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in Belgium to 25,732.
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The virus reproduction has increased to 1.06 after remaining below 1 for several days. This figure represents the average number of people infected by each infected person, and when it is above 1, it means that the epidemic is gaining ground in Belgium.
The incidence, which indicates the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, now sits at 254.8 over the past 14 days.
As of Wednesday, more than 8.63 million people in Belgium have received a first dose of the vaccine, representing 87% of the adult population, and 75% of the total population.
Meanwhile, more than 8.48 million people are fully vaccinated, accounting for 86% of the adult population in Belgium, and 74% of the total population.
Belgium has also started administering booster doses of coronavirus vaccines to people from certain vulnerable groups to keep the protection against the coronavirus sufficiently high. As of Wednesday, more than 341,500 people had received such a dose.
