In the period July 19 to July 25, an average of 328 new confirmed cases were identified per day, an increase of 70 percent compared to the previous week. This increase can be seen in almost all provinces, but especially in the province of Antwerp. “The current situation is worrying,” said Boudewijn Catry of Sciensano
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The number of hospital admissions is also increasing rapidly, between July 19 and July 25 there were an average of 23 admissions per day, an increase of 89 percent. Hospitals now have a total of 232 covid patients, 49 of whom are on intensive care. That is an increase of 35 and 48 percent respectively. There are 9,833 deaths in total, which is an average of 2 per day. That figure is still falling, the week before there were still 3 deaths a day. A total of 66,662 confirmed infections have been counted in our country.
Limiting physical contacts
“The evolution of the number of infections and hospitalizations is not good at the moment,” said Catry. “Those curves have to go down as soon as possible. The sooner we succeed in this, the sooner we can all get back on track and avoid a situation like in March. ”
Catry reiterates that the measures announced by the National Security Council on Monday are needed. “The important thing is to limit the number of physical contacts,” says Catry. “For example, we can only expand our family bubble with five other people, for example grandma and grandpa, brother or sister, or a good friend. Children under the age of twelve are not included. ” The contacts should remain the same for the next month.
“Limiting our social contacts is currently the most efficient way to quell the flare-up of this virus,” Catry repeated. “After all, those contacts played an important role in the multiplication of the number of infections in recent weeks.”
Situation of concern
“The current situation is worrying, so doing nothing now would cause things to get out of hand in the short term, but we can turn the tide,” said Catry. “That’s why we’re asking you not to look for loopholes to get around the rules.”
Catry explains why a bubble of five was chosen. “The number of infections has to go down again as soon as possible and that can only be done by drastically reducing our contacts,” he said. But according to him, five is better than zero, because we can continue to see people who are dear to us. “The other measures, such as limiting fun shopping and the call for telework, were also taken in the same vein: the fewer contacts, the faster we get the curve down and get out of this difficult situation.”
In addition, Catry insists on other safety rules, such as keeping a meter and a half away and wearing a mouth mask where it is mandatory or in busy places. “Also, stay at home immediately if you are ill or have symptoms that could indicate a Covid-19 infection,” he said. “We regularly hear that people are still shopping for groceries or taking the children to a camp pending a test, but you are most contagious in the early stages. So you can infect many others in a few hours. Don’t play with fire and stay home if there is a chance that you have been infected. “
The extra measures in Antwerp came about because a large number of infections were counted there. “It cannot be ruled out that additional measures will be taken in other parts of the country as well, we must be able to react quickly to prevent new infections.”
It will take several weeks before the effect of the new measures on the number of new infections will be visible. Until then, the number of cases will continue to rise.
Stop domino effect
“Our summer vacation looks completely different from what we suggested, we understand that many people are frustrated or angry,” said Yves Stevens, spokesman for the National Crisis Center. “Our efforts in recent months should not have been in vain. The decision to limit our contacts is hard, but necessary to stop the domino effect. “
Stevens also repeats that limiting the contacts is the only way to bring the curve down again. “Now we can actually give something back to the healthcare staff: by adjusting our behavior, we can prevent them from being flooded again in the future.”
Can the curfew be extended?
At the moment, according to Stevens, it is not yet the case to introduce a curfew in other cities or municipalities, but it is one of the measures that a mayor can take at a local level.
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