There are clear regional differences in the new increase in coronavirus infections, virologist Steven Van Gucht said on Friday at a National Crisis Centre press conference.
During the week from 1 to 7 September, an average of 547.4 new coronavirus infections were recorded daily. This represents an increase of 22% compared to the previous seven days.
“Regionally, we see some clear differences. In percentage terms, the largest increases are in the west of the country, with increases of between 5% and 64%. We see the strongest increases in percentage terms in West Flanders,” Van Gucht explained.
“In the east, on the other hand, we are seeing stabilisation to a slight decline.”
In absolute numbers, however, the Brussels Region remains in the lead, with 140 new infections in the past week, an increase of 20% compared to the previous week.
“The Brussels Region is now also the region with the highest number of tests carried out. Last week, more than 18 tests per 1,000 inhabitants were taken.”
“At the same time, we can see that more than 5% of all samples tested in Brussels are still positive, which is almost twice as high as in the rest of the country,” said Van Gucht.
The second highest number of new cases was found in the province of Antwerp: 106 in the last seven days, an increase of 29%.
The Brussels Times
