The public health science institute Sciensano has released the latest figures on the coronavirus pandemic in Belgium. They show further falls in the number of positive PCR tests for coronavirus and in the number of people with COVID-19 that are becoming so ill that they require hospital treatment. There are currently just over 800 patients with COVID-19 in the country’s hospitals. This is down from around 2,000 just before Christmas.
During the week from 10 to 16 January an average of 428 positive PCR test results for coronavirus were recorded in Belgium each day. This is 33% down on the previous week. During the same period 5,400 PCR tests for coronavirus were carried out in Belgium each day. This is 25% fewer than during the previous week.
Of those tested 9.9% tested positive for the virus, a fall of 1.2 percentage points on the previous week.
The basic reproductive rate (R0) for coronavirus in Belgium currently stands at 0.85. This means that on average every 100 people with the virus infect an average of a further 85 others.
Hospitalisations and deaths
During the week from 13 to 19 January an average of 51 people with COVID-19 were admitted to hospital in Belgium each day. This is 22% fewer than was the case during the previous week. This figure only includes those admitted to hospital specifically for treatment on the ill-effects of COVID-19.
There are currently 811 patients with COVID-19 in the country’s hospitals. This figure also includes people initially admitted for treatment on other ailments that subsequently tested positive for coronavirus. The figure of 811 is 21% down on a week ago.
Of those hospitalised, 57 COVID-19 patients are intensive care. This is around half the number of COVID-19 patients that were on ICUs at the end of last month.
During the week from 10 to 16 January and average of 7 people with COVID-19 died in Belgium each day. Since the onset of the pandemic in Belgium in February 2020 a total of 33,525 deaths from COVID-19 have been recorded here.