Authorities count deaths due to Covid-19 differently – this is now leading to a political argument.
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Workers in protective gear close a coffin in Charleroi, Belgium.
Photo: Keystone
The latest corona figures are presented in Brussels every morning: 266 people died on Wednesday. From the point of view of the health authority, this was good news: “The climax seems to be behind us,” says a message. Belgium is one of the top international deaths in terms of deaths, and even number one worldwide in relation to the total population. The fact that there are still no pictures of completely overcrowded hospitals is also due to the fact that more than half of the Belgian Corona dead die in retirement and nursing homes.
There are several reasons why the numbers are so high in Belgium. Protective equipment is still lacking; in addition, the population density is high and the air is bad. However, neither is a specifically Belgian phenomenon. Observers therefore suspect that another aspect is crucial: the way Belgium counts its corona dead.
One suspicion is enough
In Belgium, not only those deaths appear in the statistics that tested positive for the coronavirus. But also all those who are only suspected of being linked to the virus. Of the 178 home residents who appeared in the statistics on Wednesday, only 13 percent were Corona positive. The rest were not tested, but counted anyway. Some because they had symptoms that could fit Corona. Others because someone else had previously died of the virus in their facility.
Nobody currently knows how many corona deaths there are in Belgium. Therefore, a dispute has arisen over the question of counting. Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès says the Belgian way of counting is simply more transparent. Flemish tourism minister Zuhal Demir, on the other hand, criticizes the high death rate as a bad reflection of the country.
“Political misunderstandings”
The dispute over the numbers has also reached the EU Parliament. Because at some point the restrictions – for example at the internal borders – should be lifted again; and the corona hazard on both sides of the border is an important parameter for this. The chairman of the health committee Pascal Canfin (La République En Marche) warned that different counting methods could lead to “political misunderstandings”; his FDP colleague Andreas Glück says: “We need comparability, that’s why we need a common data collection.”
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