At the current rate, the 2,000 Covid-19 beds in the intensive care units in Belgian hospitals will be full by mid-November, health officials warned during a press conference on Wednesday.
Currently, 1,621 patients are admitted to hospital as a result of the coronavirus, of which 281 are in intensive care. "The number of patients in the ICU doubles every 12 days," said virologist and interfederal Covid-19 spokesperson Steven Van Gucht.
"The maximum number of intensive care beds may be occupied by mid-November if this trend continues. But I am confident that we are going to avert this scenario," he said.
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Over the past week, an average of 152 coronavirus patients were admitted to hospital every day, an 81% increase compared to the previous week. On Tuesday, 211 people were even admitted to hospital.
"A week ago we passed the threshold of 100 hospital admissions a day, now the threshold of 200 has been exceeded," said Van Gucht.
Hospital admissions are currently doubling every eight days, he said. "This demonstrates once again the power of exponential growth."
Additionally, the rise in new infections is "alarming," according to Van Gucht, who said that the number is currently doubling every seven days.
"The second wave is clearly increasing in strength," said Van Gucht. "This is serious, but it does not have to cause panic. We know the virus better now, and we also know what to do."
While additional measures could possibly help, according to him, the most important thing people have to do is respect the 'golden rules,' as many infections take place in the private sphere.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
