The coronavirus reproduction rate in Belgium stands at 0.98, meaning that the epidemic is slowly declining, according to the latest official figures published by the Sciensano public health institute on Wednesday.
This figure, which has been above 1 for the last weeks as the coronavirus infection rate was increasing, shows that one person with coronavirus infects less than one other person on average in the country.
Between 27 March and 3 April, an average of 4,267 new people tested positive per day, down by 12% from the 7-day average of the week before, and a 2% decrease from yesterday's average.
The total number of confirmed cases in Belgium since the beginning of the pandemic is 904,673. 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, 553.9 infections were confirmed per 100,000 inhabitants, which is a 31% increase compared to the two weeks before.
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Between 31 March and 6 April, an average of 255.9 patients was admitted to the hospital per day, an increase of 4% compared to the week before, and down from yesterday's 7-day average of 267.9.
In total, 3,167 coronavirus patients were in hospital on Tuesday, 114 more than the day before. Of all patients, 893 were in intensive care, 28 more than on Monday, which means the country may soon reach the critical figure of 1,000 people in ICU. Meanwhile, 497 patients were on a ventilator, 5 more than the previous day.
From 27 March to 3 April, an average number of 34.6 deaths occurred per day, marking a 27.4% increase compared to the week before, up from yesterday's average weekly deaths.
The total number of deaths in the country since the beginning of the pandemic is currently 23,247.
Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 11,463,139 tests has been carried out. Of those tests, an average of 59,660.0 was taken per day over the past week, with a positivity rate of 8.0%.
This percentage has increased by 0.3% compared to last week's 7-day average while testing decreased by 13%.
As of yesterday, a total of 1,525,095 people in Belgium have received at least one dose of the vaccine against Covid-19, or 16.6% of the population aged 18 and older, up by around 23,000 from the day before.
In addition, 573,969 people – or 6.2% of the adult population – have been fully vaccinated.
Lauren Walker
The Brussels Times
