Belgium has officially entered into the list of the top 10 European countries with the best handle on coronavirus infections, official figures have shown.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Belgium's 315 new confirmed cases per 100,000 give it the 9th best infection rate in Europe for data of the past 2 weeks.
This news comes in stark contrast with last month (27 October), when Belgium overtook the Czech Republic, gaining the worst infection rate with 1,391 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants.
The weeks since, however, have seen Belgium pull back into lockdown - closing all but essential businesses, limiting contacts to a minimum and seemingly seeing a result. As of today, however, a collective easing of some rules will go into force.
Speaking on Friday, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo cautiously acknowledged the positive trend.
“The situation in our country is better than a few weeks ago,” De Croo said. “We have managed to reverse a very dangerous trend. However, it is now a question of persevering, and continuing the efforts of the last four weeks.”
“Even if the situation is less dramatic now, it is still very dangerous. We are still in alert phase 4, according to the latest data,” he added. “The circulation of the virus is still too widespread.”
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With 315 new confirmed cases per 100 000 inhabitants in the last fortnight, we are currently ranked ninth in a list of 31 countries. In addition to the United Kingdom, it is made up of members of the European Union and the European Economic Area.
This is the top ten countries that can present the best figures in the past 14 days are:
- Iceland: 51.8 (per 100,000 inhabitants)
- Ireland: 90.0
- Finland: 94.3
- Norway: 141.2
- Greece: 284.6
- Denmark: 297.6
- Malta: 299.5
- Germany: 303.8
- Belgium: 315
- Latvia: 330
The other end of the scale is now occupied by Luxembourg, which has held the top spot for several weeks with 1,218 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the ECDC data revealed.
The Brussels Times
