Every day, more than 8,000 coronavirus infections are being recorded in Belgium on average, as the epidemiological situation continues to worsen.
Between 31 October and 6 November, an average of 8,088 new coronavirus infections were identified every day – a 5% increase from the previous seven days, according to the latest figures published by the Sciensano Public Health Institute on Wednesday.
The number of tests being taken meanwhile decreased by 10% (74,570.4), while the positivity rate has risen by 2.1% since last week, now sitting at 11.7% - the highest rate since the end of November last year.
During the same period, an average of 22.1 people died per day from the virus, up by 3% from last week. This brings the total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in Belgium to 26,230.
As a result, Belgium's Consultative Committee will be meeting on Friday 19 November to discuss the worsening situation and how to deal with the fourth wave.
Between 3 and 9 November, an average of 196.7 patients suffering from Covid-19 were admitted to hospitals per day, a 29% increase since the previous week
On Tuesday, a total of 2,146 people were in hospitals due to an infection (75 more than on Monday), including 434 patients being treated in intensive care (+16), with 216 on a ventilator (+4).
To cope with the influx of people hospitalised as a result of the virus, hospitals have been asked to scale up to phase 1A+ and reserve one-third of their intensive care beds for coronavirus patients within two weeks.
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Meanwhile, the virus reproduction rate has slightly increased to 1.18. This figure represents the average number of people infected by each infected person, and when it is above 1, it means that the epidemic is gaining ground in Belgium.
The incidence, which indicates the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, has increased by 81% and now sits at 958.7 over the past 14 days.
As of Monday, more than 8.74 million people in Belgium have received a first dose of the vaccine, representing 88% of the adult population, and 76% of the total population.
Meanwhile, more than 8.6 million people are fully vaccinated, accounting for 87% of the adult population in Belgium, and 75% of the total population.
Belgium has also started administering booster doses of coronavirus vaccines to people from certain vulnerable groups to keep the protection against the coronavirus sufficiently high. As of Monday, more than 760,000 people had received such a dose.
