Covid: positive signs continue, but death toll has exceeded 13,000 now
The number of corona fatalities is still on the rise, and 888 patients remain in intensive care. But meanwhile the corona restrictions are beginning to pay off, with the number of hospitalisations dropping. The number of new infections is going down strongly now.
The number of Covid fatalities in Belgium keeps increasing. The rolling average for the past week climbed to 179 deaths per day, a rise of 55 percent on the week. The total number has exceeded 13,000 now, but in the first wave this included unconfirmed cases in nursing homes as well.
The good news is that the number of hospital admissions keeps going down, for the second successive day. Last week, 597 patients had to be taken to hospital each day on average, coming from 656 the week before. Yesterday's figure was at just 400, while 294 patients were allowed to return home again.
This brings the total number of patients in Belgian hospitals to just below 7,000. However, the number of those staying in intensive care saw a slight rise, reaching 1,469 now. 888 of those are in a bad way and are kept in an artificial coma. Virologist Steven Van Gucht has warned that, because of this situation, the number of fatalities may continue to climb for some days, even when other figures are improving.
The number of new Covid cases has fallen below 9,500 per day on average, a 40-percent drop on the week. However, fewer tests are being carried out for the time being: people showing no symptoms are not being tested until testing capacity has been boosted again. An average of 45,000 tests each day was carried out last week.