As major coronavirus indicators in Belgium are dropping at slower rates, the figures are rising in some provinces, the Crisis Centre warned at a press conference on Wednesday.
The highest rise in coronavirus figures can be seen in the province of West Flanders (10%), according to the Crisis Centre. They figures are also rising in the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant and Luxembourg, by 3% in each of these cases.
There is “no unique explanation” as to why the numbers are rising in these provinces, said Sciensano virologist Steven Van Gucht during the press conference, adding that the increases are spread across different age groups.
Notably, children and teenagers now represent 14% of the infected population.
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Meanwhile, the figures are going down in other provinces, with drops ranging from 1% in the province of East Flanders to 25% in the provinces of Namur and Liège.
“The highest number of new infections is still recorded in Antwerp, with an average of 335 per day,” Steven Van Gucht said. The province is followed by East Flanders (327 new infections per day) and West Flanders (288).
In total, 594,572 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been registered since the start of the pandemic.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times