‘At this rate on April 10, a thousand patients in intensive care …

The number of hospital admissions can quickly exceed the alarm level, warned Steven Van Gucht at the press conference of the Crisis Center. The virologist also had good news: the number of health workers with antibodies has increased exponentially thanks to the vaccinations.

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The number of hospital admissions for the coronavirus is in a week increased by 27 percent. An average of 3,266 infections with the corona virus were added every day. The positivity ratio rose slightly to 7 percent, despite the increased number of tests. “That points to a further increase in viral circulation, one that we have not seen since the start of the second wave, in early October,” warned virologist Steven Van Gucht.

“This may be the start of a third wave, but we can also turn that wave into a wave,” said Van Gucht. ‘We expect increases of up to 40 percent on a weekly basis. That can top it off, but it depends on our behavior. The Consultation Committee will meet soon to review the situation, but we are already familiar with the most important measures. With proper follow-up of the basic measures, we can make the biggest difference. ‘

‘Don’t let grandparents babysit grandchildren’

‘The infections in children have risen sharply, so don’t let the grandparents look after them,’ warned Van Gucht. ‘Certainly because the majority of grandparents have not yet received a full vaccination schedule.’ In addition to children (+60 percent), we see the strongest increase in infections among teenagers (+56 percent). The greatest number of new cases and the greatest increase occur in teenagers between the ages of 10 and 12.

The virologist also warned of the rapid rise in hospital admissions, now more than 200 a day for three days. ‘At this rate, the figures double every 15 to 25 days. If we continue at the current pace, we will be on about 300 hospital admissions a day at the beginning of April, with about 800 beds in intensive care.

‘At this rate, we will reach a thousand patients in intensive care on 10 April. That is a barrier that we must absolutely remain under in order to be able to guarantee the good quality of care, ‘Van Gucht emphasized. ‘The curve can rise even further, but it can also start to fall. Small changes in our behavior can make a big difference there. ‘

Low infections among nursing home residents

Van Gucht also announced results of research among health workers: ‘In the period between April and the end of September 2020, the period between the first and second wave, the number of health workers who had produced antibodies remained fairly stable at around 19 percent. At the end of January, after the second wave, this was already 28 percent. After the start of the vaccinations, the number of health workers with antibodies rose exponentially to more than 60 percent at the end of February. ‘

The number of infections in the residential care centers remains low, the virologist reported. The number of infections rose slightly in Wallonia, but remained stable in the other regions. Less than half a percent of residential care centers reported ten or more infections in the past week. The number of new hospital admissions of residential care center residents remains below 0.2 in 1,000. They now represent only 2.3 percent of all hospital admissions. The number of deaths is also declining further, to less than one per day.

From now on, the hospitals will no longer have to report results from Saturday to Sunday, the virologist said. This is to relieve the burden on hospitals, now that they have to scale up to level 1B. As a result, Sciensano will not publish new corona figures on Sunday.

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