The corona figures in Belgium continue to go in the right direction. New hospital admissions are down 17 percent in a week. Is the third wave completely behind us now? Steven Van Gucht is already positive during the press conference of the Crisis Center.
–
Steven Van Gucht: ‘Today we only have good news to report. All numbers continue to fall. The decline follows even the most optimistic forecasts. We owe this in part to the pace of the vaccination campaign: 91 percent of the over-65s received a first vaccine. But the decrease is also due to the cautious approach of the Belgians. Studies show that Belgians limit their close contacts. As long as they are not vaccinated, they also indicate that they will continue to limit their contacts. That’s good news, because a lot of virus is still circulating. ‘
Last week there were an average of 2,153 new infections per day. That is a decrease of 20 percent on a weekly basis. But due to last week’s holiday, less than half of them were tested on Thursday than the week before. Whit Monday will also cause a disruption in next week’s figures.
The decrease is most pronounced in children under the age of ten. But even in the over-90s, only 16 new infections were diagnosed per day. Antwerp remains the province with the highest number of infections per day: 362 per day.
Hospital figures also continue to decline. On average, there were 133 new admissions per day. That is 17 percent lower than the week before. On Sunday, fewer than 100 admissions were registered for the first time since February 21. Van Gucht warns that the number of admissions is always slightly lower on a Sunday, and that the figure will therefore continue to rise. Most admissions are in people in their forties and fifties: they make up 39 percent of hospital admissions. People in their twenties and thirties account for 14 percent of the admissions. The eighties still represent only 16 percent. The number of hospital admissions continues to decline among the people in their sixties and seventies.
Van Gucht: ‘There are currently 1,857 patients with covid in hospitals, which is a decrease of 18 percent on a weekly basis. 610 people are in intensive care. At the current rate, fewer than 500 patients could be on intensive care at the end of May and fewer than 400 on 9 June. ‘ This would allow the government to meet the hospital occupancy condition. These were intended for a number of relaxation.
Van Gucht also thinks that the number of hospital admissions below 75 per day can be achieved by June, provided the current rate of decline continues.
There are also fewer deaths. Last week there were 25 admissions per day. That is a weekly decrease of 18 percent. The decline is most pronounced in the over-75s. Most deaths are in the group between 75 and 65 years. ‘Be careful in the coming weeks, that’s how we get out of this crisis,’ adds Van Gucht.
Gudrun Biat, spokeswoman for the vaccination task force, is also optimistic. ‘Currently, 42 percent of people in our country have received a first injection. We are therefore over half of the vaccination rate to be achieved. June and July are going to be intense months. We then shift up a gear, in principle we will put a million doses per week. The people in our vaccination centers face busy times. They will be able to use our support as this is an unprecedented challenge. They deserve our appreciation. We understand impatience. But know that there are a lot of waiting for you too. Applause is not necessary, a sincere thank you is nice. This week, 800,000 vaccines will be administered. Don’t hesitate when it’s your turn ‘.
Indian variant
‘At the moment about 77 infections with the Indian variant have been diagnosed,’ says Van Gucht. “There are probably more, but those are the official figures.” He emphasizes that it remains rare. Van Gucht remains cautious about the higher level of infection and the effect of the vaccines against the Indian variant: ‘According to some data, this variant is more contagious. We don’t know yet how much more contagious. But we have no indication that current vaccines do not protect against serious disease of this variant. There are a number of very limited laboratory studies that show that the antibodies that were generated after vaccination or a natural contamination with covid do not all recognize the Indian variant. ‘ That in itself is not special, says van Gucht: “We also see this with the South African, the Brazilian and even to a lesser extent with the British variant.” According to the virologist, that does not have to be a problem. ‘Many other antibodies can still recognize the virus. Moreover, we must not forget that our immunity after vaccination is much broader than antibodies alone. There are also T cells, and viruses have a harder time escaping them anyway, ‘says Van Gucht.
– .
