Between 25 and 31 October, an average of 929 new infections were identified each day – the lowest number this year and since July 2021, figures published by the Sciensano Institute of Public Health on Friday morning showed.
This is a 42% decrease from the previous week and down from 1,500 on Friday last week. The average number of tests taken per day dropped to 7,000 per day while the positivity rate has fallen to 15.8%, down from almost 20% last week.
Omicron BA.5 remains the dominant strain, accounting for 85.2% of all infections. It is said to be no more infectious than the other Omicron subvariants and can circumvent accumulated immunity.
In the same week, an average of 6.1 deaths as a result of a Covid-19 infection was recorded (-33%). The total number of deaths in Belgium since the start of the pandemic is 32,941; however, this includes people who died of another cause but who were infected, meaning it is an overestimate of Covid-19 deaths.
Situation in Belgian hospitals
An average of 54.7 patients suffering from Covid-19 were admitted to hospitals each day, down from 83 on Friday last week. 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 also dropped below 1,000 to 901 – 300 fewer than this time last week.
The reproduction rate has plummeted to 0.74. When this figure is below 1, it means that the epidemic is slowing down. The incidence (the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants) has dropped to 153 over the past 14 days.
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As of Tuesday, more than 7.2 million people received a booster dose of the vaccine, representing 76% of over-18s and 62% of the entire population, while almost 3.63 million people have received a second booster dose – equivalent to 31% of the total population.
Adults across all regions in Belgium can now get their additional booster shots (without invitation in Wallonia and Brussels). Find out why this latest jab is important.
