While Belgium’s average coronavirus infections and hospital admissions have barely gone down, average daily deaths have increased by more than 10%, according to the latest official figures published by the Sciensano public health institute on Tuesday.
Between 27 February and 5 March, an average of 2,336 new people tested positive per day, which is a 3% decrease compared to the week before.
The total number of confirmed cases in Belgium since the beginning of the pandemic is 789,008. 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, 289.6 infections were confirmed per 100,000 inhabitants, which is a 19% increase compared to the two weeks before.
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Between 2 and 8 March, an average of 146.7 patients were admitted to hospital per day, a decrease of 1% compared to the week before.
In total, 1,998 coronavirus patients are currently in hospital, or 66 more than yesterday. Of all patients, 440 are in intensive care, which is 14 more than yesterday. A total of 252 patients are on a ventilator – 21 more than yesterday.
From 27 February to 5 March, an average number of 26.3 deaths occurred per day, marking an 11.5% increase compared to the week before.
The total number of deaths in the country since the beginning of the pandemic is currently 22,292.
Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 9,793,185 tests have been carried out. Of those tests, an average of 43,433.1 were taken per day over the past week, with a positivity rate of 6.1%.
The percentage went down by 0.6% compared to last week, while testing increased by 7%.
A total of 618,280 people in Belgium have been partially vaccinated against coronavirus, or 6.7% of the population aged 18 and older. In addition, 341,067 people have been fully vaccinated.
The reproduction rate, meanwhile, stands at 0.99, meaning that one person with coronavirus infects just under one other person and that the pandemic is no longer growing in Belgium.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
