The number of deaths in Belgium as a result of the coronavirus has now exceeded 20,000, as average new daily infections continued to increase compared to the week before, according to the latest figures published by the Sciensano public health institute on Sunday.
Between 31 December and 6 January, an average of 1,776.7 new people tested positive per day over the past week, which is an 11% increase compared to the week before.
The total number of confirmed cases in Belgium since the beginning of the pandemic is 662,694. 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, 206.1 infections were confirmed per 100,000 inhabitants, which is a 31% decrease compared to the two weeks before.
Between 3 and 9 January, an average of 135 patients were admitted to hospital, which is 9% fewer than the week before.
In total, 1,928 coronavirus patients are currently in hospital, or 66 fewer than yesterday. Of all patients, 379 are in intensive care, which is one more than yesterday. A total of 205 patients are on a ventilator – one fewer than yesterday.
From 31 December to 6 January, an average number of 58.4 deaths occurred per day, marking a 15.1% decrease compared to the week before.
The total number of deaths in the country since the beginning of the pandemic is currently 20,038.
Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 7,257,813 tests have been carried out. Of those tests, an average of 33,368.1 were taken per day over the past week, with a positivity rate of 5.9%.
The percentage decreased by 1.4% compared to last week, along with a 27% increase in testing.
The reproduction rate, meanwhile, is currently at 0.98, which means that a person infected with coronavirus infects slightly fewer than one other person on average, but that number is slowly increasing.
The Brussels Times
