Belgium’s daily average new coronavirus infections continue to drop, according to the latest figures published by the Sciensano public health institute on Sunday.
Between 24 and 30 December, an average of 1,600.9 new people tested positive per day over the past week, which is a 31% decrease compared to the week before.
The total number of confirmed cases in Belgium since the beginning of the pandemic is 649,169. The total reflects all people in Belgium who have been infected, and includes confirmed active cases as well as patients who have since recovered, or died as a result of the virus.
Over the past two weeks, 239 infections were confirmed per 100,000 inhabitants, which is a 18% decrease compared to the two weeks before.
Between 27 December and 2 January, an average of 148 patients were admitted to hospital, which is 6% fewer than the week before.
In total, 2,125 coronavirus patients are currently in hospital, or 43 more than yesterday. Of all patients, 480 are in intensive care, which is 16 fewer that yesterday. A total of 226 patients are on a ventilator – 21 fewer than yesterday.
From 24 to 30 December, an average number of 68.7 deaths occurred per day, marking a 21.8% decrease compared to the week before.
The total number of deaths in the country since the beginning of the pandemic is currently 19,644.
Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 6,974,818 tests have been carried out. Of those tests, an average of 26,298 were taken per day over the past week, with a positivity rate of 7.3%. That means that one in fourteen people who get tested receive a positive result.
The percentage went down by 0.1% compared to last week, along with a 30% decrease in testing.
The reproduction rate, finally, has gone up slightly from 0.90 to 0.94, which means that while a person infected with coronavirus infects fewer than one other person on average, the disease is now shrinking less quickly that before.
The Brussels Times
