28 new people have tested positive for the new coronavirus (Covid-19), confirmed the FPS Public Health on Tuesday.
On 9 March, the network of the National Reference Laboratory tested 443 samples at the KU Leuven, of which 28 tested positive for the virus.
Since the beginning of the epidemic, the total number of infections in Belgium now stands at 267. 17 of the newly infected people live in Flanders, 8 in Wallonia and 3 in Brussels.
"The trend of the weekend continues on Monday," the FPS Public Health stated on its website. "Over the past 3 days, we detected 31, 39 and 28 positive Covid-19 samples, respectively. For the time being, there is no exponential increase in the number of cases," it added.
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This is because the initial influx of infected people returning from Northern Italy has stopped. Additionally, people who are ill know that it is very important to stay at home to avoid the virus spreading further, which creates a temporary delay in the increase of the number of cases, according to the FPS.
"However, there is local circulation on our territory, and new cases will be identified in the next few days," the agency stated, adding that it is very important for sick people who have symptoms such as fever, coughing and difficulty breathing, to stay at home, and contact the doctor by telephone.
It remains important to avoid contact with vulnerable groups, such as the elderly or people with underlying disorders, as much as possible.
Update: The number of patients confirmed with the coronavirus (Covid-19) in Belgium is 314, as of Wednesday 11 March. Read more about it here.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
