Between 8 and 14 August, an average of 1,916 new Covid-19 infections were detected per day, up 9% compared with the previous week, according to the latest figures from the Sciensano Public Health Institute on Wednesday morning.
More than 500 people in Belgium are currently in hospital as a result of the coronavirus.
On Tuesday, a total of 567 people remained in hospitals due to an infection (16 more than on Monday), including 162 patients being treated in intensive care (+4), with 78 on a ventilator (+3).
Between 11 and 17 August, the average number of patients admitted to hospitals in Belgium rose by 21%. During that period, 57.4 patients suffering from Covid-19 were admitted on an average per day.
Meanwhile, an average of 50,667.7 tests (-1%) were performed daily, with a positivity rate of 4.2%.
During the same period, an average of 3.3 people died per day from the virus (-4%), bringing the total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in Belgium to 25,299.
The virus reproduction rate has once again increased slightly to 1.12 after reaching 1.09 on Tuesday. This figure represents the average number of people infected by each infected person, and when it is higher than 1, it means that the epidemic is growing in the population.
The incidence, which indicates the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, reached 223.8 over the past 14 days.
Nearly 8.3 million Belgians have received a first dose of the vaccine, representing 84.6% of the adult population, and 72% of the total population (including 12 to 17-year-olds who can now also be vaccinated).
Meanwhile, almost 7.7 million people are fully vaccinated, accounting for 81.4% of the adult population in Belgium, and 66.7% of the total population.
On Friday at 2:00 PM, Belgium's Consultative Committee will meet to discuss the epidemiological situation in the country, as well as possible relaxations as part of the next phase of the summer plan, expected to go ahead from 1 September.
As stated when the summer plan was announced, measures will be relaxed provided that seven out of 10 adults have had their first vaccine, which is now the case nationwide, though not in Brussels, where the figure is still only 63%.
The number of people being treated for the coronavirus in intensive care is also well below the threshold of 500, another requirement for relaxations to go ahead. However, the number of hospital admissions – another requirement – is increasing.
The Brussels Times
