Although the number of deaths as a result of the coronavirus remains low, the number of new hospitalisations has started to increase slightly in Belgium.
Between 13 and 19 July, there was an average of 25.7 new hospital admissions per day due to the coronavirus, a 48% increase compared to the previous reference period.
On Monday, a total of 265 people were in hospital as a result of the coronavirus (17 more than on Sunday) of whom 84 (-4) people were being treated in intensive care, and 48 people (-2) were on a ventilator.
Between 10 and 16 July, an average of 1,330 new coronavirus infections were detected per day, a 42% increase from the average of the previous week, according to the latest figures from Sciensano Health Institute published on Tuesday morning.
Although there is still an increase in the number of people testing positive, this figure is going up slightly less quick than in the previous two weeks.
The daily average of testing over the past week increased by 16% (a daily average of 69,229 tests were carried out), whilst the positivity rate has increased to 2.1%, the highest it has been in months.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,107,208 cases of coronavirus infection have been diagnosed in Belgium.
To slow down the spread of the epidemic in Belgium, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced tougher measures for travellers returning from red zones and an expansion of the Coronavirus pass to smaller events.
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During the same period, the average number of deaths due to the virus remained relatively stable and now sits at a daily average of 1.6, bringing the total to 25,213 deaths since the start of the pandemic in Belgium.
Last week, there were three days during which no one died as a result of the virus.
The incidence, which indicates the average number of new cases per day per 100,000 inhabitants, is continuing to increase rapidly and has now risen by 163% since the last 14-day period, sitting at 138.1.
The reproduction rate of the coronavirus has skyrocketed to 1.29 after slumping to 1 again 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 Sunday, 82.4% of the adult population in Belgium had received the first injection of a coronavirus vaccine. This figure equates to just over 7.76 million people.
Of these, almost 5.5 million people (59.6% of the adult population in Belgium) have received a second dose and are now considered fully protected.
The Brussels Times
