© BELGA
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The corona figures are rising again, after remaining very stable for a long time. A result of the most recent relaxations and the autumn weather, which means that we are again spending more time indoors, says virologist Steven Van Gucht of Sciensano.
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Werner Rommers
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After a long period of stable corona figures, there is again an upward trend. And that at all ages and throughout the country, says Steven Van Gucht.
He expects that increase to accelerate in the coming weeks. Rode? According to him, the rising infection figures are almost certainly the result of the recent easing, in combination with the autumn weather, it sounds. While an average of 2,200 people tested positive per day in the past week, “in recent days we have recorded 3,000 to 4,000 infections per day. More than five percent of the tests are positive,” says Van Gucht. In people with typical flu symptoms such as fever, even one in three tests positive.
Especially in West Flanders (+62 percent) and in Limburg (+69 percent) the figures are rising, although Van Gucht nuances. There have been relatively few infections in both provinces in recent weeks: “This is more about catching up compared to the other provinces.”
More admissions and deaths
Not only the number of corona infections, but also the number of hospital admissions (+5 percent) and the number of deaths (+47 percent or an average of eleven deaths every day) is increasing. But the situation in Belgian hospitals is still under control, says Van Gucht. For example, the number of patients in the intensive care unit – one of the most important indicators – even fell slightly.
Because the virus is circulating again, the chance that vaccinated people will also become infected with the corona virus again, a so-called breakthrough infection, increases. However, Van Gucht emphasizes that the vaccine’s protection against hospitalization is still very good and that there are no signs that this protection would decrease.
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