COVID-19 infection rate continues to decrease in Belgium: Reports

After increasing for several weeks, the number of new covid-19 infections has started to gradually decrease, however, the number of deaths is still slowly rising.

Between 26 March & 1 April, an average of 10,351 new coronavirus infections were identified every day, an 8% decrease from the last seven days, according to the figures published by the Sciensano Public Health Institute on Tuesday morning.

The highly transmissible Omicron variant, Omicron BA.2 variant, accounts for 88.3% of all cases, while the Delta variant has been eradicated.

The average number of PCR tests taken on a regular basis in the same period inclined by 1% to 38,901. The positivity rate now sits at 29.2%, meaning slightly fewer than three out of ten tests have a positive result.

In the same week, an average of 23.3 Covid-19 patients died on a regular basis, an increase of 9%. The overall number of deaths in Belgium since the start of the pandemic amounts to 30,908.

This figure also added that people who died of another reason of death, but who happened to be infected, meant that they are an overestimate of the deaths caused by the virus.

Last week, Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke lamented the fact that the crisis is not yet over and that people ignored earlier warnings, from himself or infectious disease expert Erika Vlieghe, that caution is still required.

Between 29 March & 4 April, an average of 215.6 patients who are suffering from Covid-19 were admitted to hospitals every day – an increase of 4% on the seven days last.

This number shows how many people end up in the hospital due to the virus, not those who are admitted with another condition & then test positive for the coronavirus.

On Monday, a total of 3,071 people were in Belgian hospitals due to an infection, 107 more than on Sunday. The number of people being treated in ICU is slightly rising and now sits at 185 (+2).

This number also covers all patients who tested positive for Covid-19, including those who were first admitted with a different condition.