All of Belgium’s major coronavirus indicators are dropping, according to the latest figures published by the Sciensano public health institute on Tuesday.
Between 27 December and 2 January, an average of 1,580.1 new people tested positive per day over the past week, which is a 13% decrease compared to the week before.
The total number of confirmed cases in Belgium since the beginning of the pandemic is 652,735. 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, 206.2 infections were confirmed per 100,000 inhabitants, which is a 31% decrease compared to the two weeks before.
Between 30 December and 5 January, an average of 132.3 patients was admitted to hospital, which is 16% fewer than the week before.
In total, 2,141 coronavirus patients are currently in hospital, or 86 fewer than yesterday. Of all patients, 430 are in intensive care, which is 33 fewer than yesterday. A total of 225 patients are on a ventilator – 10 fewer than yesterday.
From 27 December to 2 January, an average number of 67.3 deaths occurred per day, marking a 15.6% decrease compared to the week before.
The total number of deaths in the country since the beginning of the pandemic is currently 19,827.
Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 7,052,844 tests have been carried out. Of those tests, an average of 25,265.7 were taken per day over the past week, with a positivity rate of 7.2%. That means that just over one in fourteen people who get tested receive a positive result.
The percentage remained the same compared to last week, along with a 15% decrease in testing.
The reproduction rate (Rt), finally, has dropped to 0.88, which means that a person infected with coronavirus infects fewer than one other person on average.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
