Schools play only a very limited role in the spread of the corona virus. Before the summer, only 36 children may have been infected with the corona virus at school. That is less than one percent of the children who have been quarantined as a precaution. The National Crisis Center reports this in an update about the corona virus. Follow the press conference live here.
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At the press conference, virologist Steven Van Gucht from Sciensano presented an extensive study on the impact of the virus on Belgian children under 18.
That study confirms that children appear to be much less vulnerable to the virus. Only 1.8 percent of the tests administered to children were positive, compared to 6.3 percent in adults. Also the percentages
Less testing was done in children than in adults, especially at the beginning of the epidemic. That is because children fell ill less often and less seriously. ‘Despite the fact that less testing was done, we see that the percentage of positive tests is much lower than in adults. On average, this is 1.8 percent versus 6.3 percent for adults, ‘says Van Gucht. About 2.5 percent of all covid cases were children, while they make up 20 percent of the population.
“A total of 378 covid cases were reported in schools, of which 270 were students and 108 staff members.” The number of people who had to be quarantined is much higher. Only 1 percent of these people eventually developed covid symptoms. It concerns 11 members of staff, who may have been infected at school. The students involved 36 children who probably contracted covid at school. The percentage of secondary infections at school is very low. ‘
Delay
The number of infections with the virus in our country is still increasing, but the increase is slowing down. In the period from 4 to 10 August, an average of 605.7 people a day became infected with the corona virus. This is an increase of 9 percent over the previous seven days. In recent days, that average has been even higher.
Current figures confirm the slowdown in spread, Sciensano said. Antwerp remains the province with the most infections, but there is a 3 percent drop on a weekly basis. The increases are strongest in Brussels and West Flanders. There are increases of about 50 percent, which equates to a doubling in two times. But the absolute figures differ strongly: in Brussels there are about 750 infections, in West Flanders about 250. The latter figure is probably largely due to the infections at the meat company Westvlees.
Since the beginning of this week, there has been a clear increase in the number of deaths. This mainly concerns people who stay in residential care centers. “This increase coincides with the heat wave,” reports Steven Van Gucht. ‘We know that ozone and heat can affect the older population. Heat, ozone and corona may have contributed to the mortality peak. But it is too early to know how big the impact of that heat wave will be on the mortality rate. ‘
To travel
The crisis center also looked ahead to the publication of the color codes for travelers. Malta will also be code red for travelers from our country, which basically means that it is prohibited to travel there. A number of Spanish regions will also receive code red.
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