Some 1,500 patients infected with Covid-19 are currently admitted to hospital in Belgium, compared to the nearly 2,000 right before Christmas. The peak that was visible before the turn of the year seems to have passed.
Last week (from 1 to 6 January), an average of 96 patients were hospitalised per day – a quarter less than in the previous week, figures published by the Sciensano Institute of Public Health on Friday morning showed. This figure only includes the number of people hospitalised because of the virus.
The total number of people infected with the virus in Belgian hospitals has dropped strongly to 1,506 – also about a quarter less than right before Christmas. The average number of patients being treated in intensive care sits at 100. These figures also include people who were admitted for another reason and later contracted the virus.
Infections, deaths and vaccinations
Between 1 and 6 January, the average number of new Covid-19 infections recorded per day dropped by 37% to 865 compared to before Christmas. Importantly, however, the number of tests carried out also fell by over a quarter – to around 8,000 per day.
The positivity rate has also dropped to 12.8%, meaning about one in eight tests has a positive result.
The reproduction rate has dropped strongly to 0.80. When this figure is higher than 1, it means that the epidemic is growing. The incidence (the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants) has slightly increased to 136.
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In the same week, the average number of deaths from Covid-19 infections per day also decreased to 11 (-6%). The total number of deaths in Belgium since the start of the pandemic is 33,395; however, this includes people who died of another cause but who were infected, meaning it is an overestimate of Covid-19 deaths.
As of 3 January, nearly 7.23 million people received a first booster dose of the vaccine, representing 76% of over-18s and 62% of the entire population, while more than 3.86 million people also received a second booster dose, equivalent to 42% of over-18s and 33% of the total population.
