Belgium’s daily average new coronavirus infections have decreased for the third day in a row, according to the latest figures published by the Sciensano public health institute on Monday.
Between 18 and 24 December, an average of 2,171.3 new people tested positive per day over the past week, which is a 15% decrease compared to the week before.
The total number of confirmed cases in Belgium since the beginning of the pandemic is 638,877. 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, 288.4 infections were confirmed per 100,000 inhabitants, which is a 7% increase compared to the two weeks before.
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Between 21 and 27 December, an average of 160.3 patients was admitted to hospital, which is 11% fewer than the week before.
In total, 2,362 coronavirus patients are currently in hospital, or 75 more than yesterday. Of all patients, 492 are in intensive care, which is 2 fewer than yesterday. A total of 292 patients are on a ventilator – 6 more than yesterday.
From 18 to 24 December, an average number of 84.6 deaths occurred per day, marking a 12.6% decrease compared to the week before.
The total number of deaths in the country since the beginning of the pandemic is currently 19,200.
Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 6,816,200 tests have been carried out. Of those tests, an average of 35,940 were taken per day over the past week, with a positivity rate of 7.4%. That means that fewer than one in thirteen people who get tested receive a positive result.
The percentage went down by 0.5% compared to last week, along with a 4% decrease in testing.
The reproduction rate, finally, is now 0.90, which means that a person infected with coronavirus infects fewer than one other person on average.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
