BREAKING. Sixteen new deaths from coronavirus, 837 people in hospital

The number of coronavirus deaths in Belgium has risen to 37 in the past 24 hours. This is an increase of 16. According to inter-federal spokesmen Steven Van Gucht and Emmanuel André, the figures are “in line with expectations”.

There are now a total of 2,257 confirmed infections in our country, an increase of 462. Of the new cases, 302 come from Flanders, 90 from Wallonia, 43 from Brussels and 27 of unknown origin, according to the inter-federal spokesmen. It is an underestimate, because not everyone with symptoms is tested.

203 additional patients with Covid-19 have been admitted to hospitals. This brings the total to 837 patients. 164 are on intensive care, 114 of whom are ventilated. Since March 13, a total of 204 people have been able to leave the hospital.

Rising phase

The rising numbers are in line with expectations, say De Gucht and André. “We are still clearly in the rising phase of the epidemic. We see that in the figures, especially the number of hospitalizations is still increasing strongly, ”says the first. “We knew this was going to continue for a while and we can expect another increase in the coming days.”

The impact of various measures that the government has imposed in the fight against the coronavirus is not expected to become visible until next week. “I suspect that if we hadn’t invoked the measures, we probably would have had higher figures by now,” said Van Gucht. “So I think there is certainly an impact already. But to really see an impact on the curve, we have to wait until next week. ”

Van Gucht also emphasizes that there is no threat of capacity shortages in hospitals. “Belgium has a certain luxury in that area. We have a lot of intensive care beds and a lot of respiratory equipment in proportion, ”says Van Gucht. Our country currently has 1,900 beds in intensive care units with respiratory equipment. “We also know that our hospitals are working hard to increase that capacity if necessary. So there is no shortage of beds at the moment. We can still handle this. ”

Do not panic

Furthermore, inter-federal spokesmen emphasize that people who develop flu-like symptoms or who are diagnosed with the coronavirus should not panic. “It is true that the majority of infections are mild and for the majority of people it is sufficient to be sick at home. It is only a small proportion of people who really develop complications. So there is no need to panic if you develop a fever or flu-like symptoms, ”said Van Gucht.

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