The number of new coronavirus hospital admissions in Belgium continues to rise, whilst more people are ending up in intensive care units or on ventilators, according to the latest official figures published by the Sciensano public health institute on Sunday.
Between 19 and 25 March, an average of 4,705 new people tested positive per day, which is a 22% increase compared to the week before, down by 27% from Sunday's seven-day average.
The total number of confirmed cases in Belgium since the beginning of the pandemic is 870,757. 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, 522.4 infections were confirmed per 100,000 inhabitants, which is a 68% increase compared to the two weeks before.
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Between 22 and 28 March, an average of 241.1 patients was admitted to the hospital per day, an increase of 22% compared to the week before.
In total, 2,691 coronavirus patients were in hospital on Sunday, 123 more than the day before. Of all patients, 711 were in intensive care, 11 more than on Saturday, while 382 patients were on a ventilator.
From 19 to 25 March, an average number of 28.3 deaths occurred per day, marking a 17.9% increase compared to the week before.
The total number of deaths in the country since the beginning of the pandemic is currently 22,897.
Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 10,998,006 tests have been carried out. Of those tests, an average of 66,145.9 was taken per day over the past week, with a positivity rate of 7.7%.
The percentage went up by 0.2% compared to last week, while testing increased by 21%.
A total of 1,229,384 people in Belgium have received at least one dose of vaccine against coronavirus, or 13.4% of the population aged 18 and older. In addition, 502,648 people – or 5.5% of the adult population – have been fully vaccinated.
The reproduction rate, meanwhile, now stands at 1.12 meaning that one person with coronavirus infects more than one other person on average and that the epidemic is growing in Belgium.
Lauren Walker
The Brussels Times
