In recent weeks, the number of new infections with the coronavirus Covid-19 has risen sharply in Belgium. The virologists did not expect this to happen at this time of the year. Despite recent rise in the number of people in Belgium with coronavirus, the virologist Professor Marc Van Ranst (photo above) of Leuven University’s Rega Institute for Medical Research believes that there is no reason to panic.
Increase in coronavirus infections in Belgium "As long as it the Omicron variant, there is little to fear", says virologist Marc Van Ranst
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A few weeks ago, analysis of wastewater showed an increased presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Testing wastewater is currently one of the most certain methods to find out how much coronavirus is in circulation. Professor Van Ranst told VRT News that the figures from the analysis of wastewater often provide an “Early warning sign, as they predict quite well what will happen in terms of infections”.
However, Professor Van Ranst finds it strange that coronavirus levels are currently so high. "We hardly saw any coronavirus last summer and that was good news. If a virus is dependent on the seasons, then that is part of the normal development and also part of the solution."
"But we shouldn't exaggerate the threat either. There's no way that these levels are comparable with the first waves in 2020 and 2021. It will go away again. We always see a one or two waves, but these are normally a little more prevalent in the winter," Professor Van Ranst told VRT News.
New variant(s)?
The current new wave of infections may be an indication that some new variants of the virus are circulating. However, Professor Van Ranst puts this into perspective. "New variants appear all the time and each time they are given a new name and a few weeks later they are replaced by other new variants and with different names. We've seen this happen dozens of times. These are still Omicron variants and as long as this remains the case, we have nothing to fear. Only when it is no longer an Omicron variant do we risk things becoming more serious. Only then do we need to take appropriate measures."
Professor Van Ranst currently sees no need for such measures to be taken.