That was to be expected. In France, the first death caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus was reported this Saturday by Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn.
“This death in France was that of an 80-year-old Chinese tourist who returned from the Chinese province of Hubei, the epicenter of the virus. Here too, the dead are mainly among the very old or suffering. It is therefore no surprise. This is a situation similar to what we observe in China“, tempers Marc Van Ranst, virologist, interviewed by VRT.
Should we worry about us? Not necessarily, especially since many measures have been taken. Emmanuel André, doctor, microbiologist and professor at KUL, was the guest of Prime Thursday this week.
“Belgium has time, and we are still trying to gain more time so that we can better prepare ourselves and better see the epidemic decrease naturally. This time saved will allow us to find new drugs. By being extremely proactive in screening people who are potentially infected. We must not overload our hospitals, in case a large number of patients should arrive … but this is not the case“, he recalled.
►►► Also read: Coronavirus: why you shouldn’t panic
If there is nothing alarming, the specialist understands that one can be worried in front of such a situation: “It’s a virus that humans didn’t know a few months ago. And today, this virus is capable of being transmitted very quickly. We also know that it is capable of causing extremely severe infections in a minority of cases. This is the reason why we are worried“, he explained.
Ten Belgians still in quarantine
At present, there is still only one case of coronavirus infection identified in Belgium.
The Belgian contaminated with the coronavirus is still placed in quarantine at the Saint-Pierre hospital in Brussels, said the spokesperson of the FPS Public Health on Saturday morning. Man has not developed any symptoms of the disease so far.
“The viral load decreases but we wait until it has completely disappeared in the patient to release him. It was tested yesterday and we will probably test it again today“, specifies Vinciane Charlier.
Ten Belgians repatriated from China are still in quarantine today. All are in the military hospital of Neder-over-Heembeek, except the patient who tested positive and was hospitalized in Saint-Pierre, a referral center.
The epidemic of viral pneumonia has killed more than 1,500 and infected more than 66,000 people in China, including at least 1,716 among doctors and nurses working in contact with the sick, according to the Chinese National Health Commission.
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