The number of fatalities caused by the coronavirus (Covid-19) in the past 24 hours was 82, the first time the figure fell below 100 since one week into the lockdown on 26 March, according to figures issued by the Federal Public Health Service on Saturday.
33 of the new deaths (40%) took place in Flanders, 35 (43%) in Wallonia and 14 (17%) in Brussels.
485 additional people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Belgium in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 49,517. The total reflects all people who have been infected, and includes confirmed active cases as well as patients who have since recovered or died from the consequences of the virus.
313 of the newly-infected people live in Flanders, 128 live in Wallonia, and 44 live in Brussels.
128 new patients were admitted to hospital in the last 24 hours, and 319 people were discharged, bringing the total number of people in hospital because of the coronavirus at the moment to 3,111. Since 15 March, 15,519 patients have been admitted to hospital and 12,211 have been discharged.
Of the patients currently in hospital, 689 are in the intensive care unit, which is a decrease of 60 patients in the last 24 hours.
82 new deaths have been reported, of which 33 occurred in hospitals, and were confirmed cases. 49 of the deaths were reported by the residential care centres, of which 80% were confirmed cases.
The total number of deaths in Belgium since the beginning of the pandemic is currently 7,765, of which 46% occurred in hospitals, 53% in care homes, 0.3% at home and 0.4% elsewhere.
The number of confirmed infected persons in Belgium is still increasing, the crisis centre said. The number of new hospitalisations is stabilising further, but remains quite high.
"So persevere and follow the general measures, take good care of yourself and others," the Federal Public Health Service added.
Alan Hope
The Brussels Times
