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The number of new hospital admissions and deaths appears to have stabilized. Virologist Steven Van Gucht said this on Friday during the press conference of the Crisis Center about the corona virus. During the past week, an average of 24.4 new patients with COVID-19 were admitted to hospitals. In the past week, an average of 2.6 people died from the virus.
Fortunately, according to Steven Van Gucht, we do not yet see the “great dramas” in hospitals and residential care centers as we saw during the first wave of corona infections. “This has to do with the fact that we are better able to measure and monitor what is happening in the population thanks to the greatly improved testing capacity,” says the virologist. “We are much better able to see the iceberg under water, but it is important that we act in time for this iceberg to surface and cause a lot of damage.”
No magic formula
The increase in the number of new corona cases across the entire Belgian territory also seems to have slowed, which is positive, according to Van Gucht. “We’ve evolved from doubling on a weekly basis to a 50% increase.” The virologist did point out important regional differences. In the province of Antwerp, after a period of strong growth in figures, the increase has fallen to 10% per week. The measures, such as a curfew and a mouth mask obligation, are bearing fruit, it said. In contrast, in the Brussels-Capital Region, there is an increase of 150% on a weekly basis. In West Flanders and Limburg, the number of new infections is increasing less quickly.
Van Gucht pointed out that combating the COVID-19 epidemic requires an integrated approach. “There is no unique magic formula. It is a mix of measures, the sum of which is greater than the parts, ”it said.
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