We summarize the situation of the coronavirus in Belgium.
In the past 24 hours, 575 people have been hospitalized due to their infection with the new coronavirus, the FPS Public Health and the Crisis Center said on Saturday.
In total, Belgium has 3,717 hospitalizations, including 789 in intensive care (+99), they said during their daily review. 353 deaths are to be deplored, including 64 Friday. Belgium has 9,134 confirmed contamination cases (+1,850). Among the new cases, 823 were diagnosed in Flanders, 134 in Brussels and 874 in Wallonia. “For 18 cases, the data must still be consolidated”, said Emmanuel André, Covid-19 inter-federal spokesperson.
The sharp increase in the number of cases detected is linked to the increase in the number of tests performed, said Emmanuel André. The ability to perform tests will be further strengthened in the coming days and the number of confirmed cases should therefore continue to increase. In total, more than 44,000 tests have been carried out since the start of the epidemic, including 2,948 on Friday.
According to Sciensano, “The increase in cases in Wallonia is due to the sending of retrospective data by a new laboratory carrying out the diagnosis”.
The province of Liège now appears to be strongly affected with 849 confirmed cases, while it only had around 200 on Thursday.
Hainaut remains the Walloon province with the most cases detected (1,011). In the north of the country, Antwerp (1,226) and Limburg (1,181) are the provinces most affected. All the Flemish provinces have more than 1,000 infections.
“The important indicators to monitor are the number of hospitalizations and people in intensive care”, pointed out Mr. André.
On Friday, 575 people were hospitalized and 205 recovered were released from the hospital. “Between March 15 and March 27, 3,913 patients with Covid-19 entered the hospital and 1,063 people left the hospital”, specifies Sciensano. A total of 3,717 hospital beds are occupied by people infected with the new coronavirus, including 789 in intensive care (+ 99). “43% of intensive care beds are used”, detailed Mr. André. In addition, 579 people hospitalized require respiratory assistance.
“The number of intensive care patients continues to increase. The distribution plan
(between different hospitals in the country, Editor’s note)
has not yet been activated but it could evolve in the coming days, “added the virologist.
Belgium has had 353 deaths since the start of the epidemic, including 147 in Flanders, 68 in Brussels and 138 in Wallonia. Nine out of ten deceased were over the age of 65, but the ages of all those who died range from 30 to 104, Emmanuel André said.
Crisis Center spokesperson Benoit Ramacker stressed the importance of extending containment measures. According to data from telecom operators, “80% of people do not leave their towns which means that they follow the instructions and do not leave their homes”, he detailed, thanking them for respecting confinement. However, “some still don’t understand”, which explains the announced tightening of police checks.
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