An average of three deaths per day as a result of the coronavirus is being recorded in Belgium following the sharp rise in coronavirus cases in July, according to the latest figures from Sciensano Health Institute published on Wednesday morning.
Between 25 and 31 July, the average number of deaths due to the virus increased by 50% and now sits at a daily average of 3.0, bringing the total to 25,251 deaths since the start of the pandemic in Belgium.
During the same period, the number of new coronavirus cases increased again after a slow decline, as an average of 1,562.4 new coronavirus infections were detected per day, a 5% increase from the average of the previous week.
The daily average of testing over the past week decreased by 13% (a daily average of 54,172.9 tests were carried out), however, the positivity rate has now gone up to 3.2%, the highest it has been in months.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,130,758 cases of coronavirus infection have been diagnosed in Belgium.
Between 28 July and 3 August, there was an average of 38.4 new hospital admissions per day due to the coronavirus, a 29% increase compared to the previous reference period.
On Tuesday, a total of 367 people (one fewer than on Monday) were in hospital as a result of the coronavirus, of whom 93 (-4) people were being treated in intensive care, and 49 people (+3) were on a ventilator. Most people being hospitalised reportedly haven't been fully vaccinated.
The incidence, which indicates the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants over 14 days, is continuing to increase, albeit slightly less quickly, and has now risen by 29% since the last 14-day period, sitting at 185.6.
The reproduction rate of the coronavirus has risen to 1.17 after decreasing slightly to 1.14 last week. This figure is the average number of people infected by an infected person. When the figure is higher than 1, it means the pandemic is gathering pace in Belgium.
As of Monday, more than 6.8 million people (73.4% of the adult population of Belgium) have received a second dose of the vaccine and are now considered fully protected.
Meanwhile, 83.5% of the adult population in Belgium had received the first injection of a coronavirus vaccine. This figure equates to just over 8 million people.
However, Sciensano noted on its dashboard of figures that due to a delay in data transfer, the doses administered between Friday and Sunday in Brussels and in some large vaccination centres in Flanders are missing, so the vaccination figures are lower here than in reality.
The Brussels Times
