An average of 505.6 people per day tested positive for the new coronavirus (Covid-19) in Belgium during the past week, according to figures by Sciensano on Friday.
The figure refers to the period from 11 to 17 August and reflects a fall of 20% in the numbers compared with the previous week.
In Brussels, 813 new cases were counted, 21 more than the previous week. All other provinces saw a fall in their numbers, of between one case for Luxembourg province and 531 fewer cases in Antwerp province.
Antwerp province has by far the largest number of cases, with an average of 1,273 a week over the past three weeks. Brussels in second place, over the same period, had an average of 651 cases a week. However when populations are compared, Brussels comes to an incidence of 66.7 cases per 100,000 population, compared to Antwerp’s incidence of 45.6.
From 10 to 16 August inclusive, the authorities recorded an average of 28 new hospital admissions per day, compared to 31 a week earlier. On 13 August, the daily total even reached 42 patients, the highest number since May.
In total, 303 patients were in hospital yesterday, 31 fewer than the day before, while 82 patients were in intensive care, a decrease of one since the day before, according to Sciensano’s dashboard. Of those, 50 are on a respirator, two more than the day before, and the highest number since early June.
Since the beginning of the epidemic in Belgium, a total of 18,814 people have been hospitalised, 54.7% from Flanders, 29.7% from Wallonia and 15.6% from Brussels.
An average number of 9.9 deaths occurred per day over the period 11 t0 17 August – compared to a daily average of four in last week’s report. However the numbers are coming down: yesterday saw two deaths, while the three days 15-17 August saw 20 deaths in total.
The total number of deaths in Belgium since the beginning of the pandemic is currently 9,976 – seven more than yesterday.
Alan Hope
The Brussels Times
