Covid-19 update: lowest number of hospital admissions since 19 October
The corona restrictions on the federal, Flemish and local level are starting to bear fruit. The number of hospitalisations dipped under 400 yesterday, the lowest number in 24 days.
From 6 to 12 November, 497 patients were admitted to hospital per day on average. This number is 25 percent down on the week, as we had 664 new patients per day a week earlier.
The total number number of corona patients in Belgian hospitals stands at 7,010 now, after 242 people were allowed to return home yesterday. 1,452 patients are meanwhile in intensive care, compared to 1,463 yesterday. 902 of them are fighting for their lives.
Virologist Steven Van Gucht says that "it seems we have left the peak of intensive care patients behind us now, as we have seen a slight drop for 3 consecutive days. It seems the peak was on 9 November when we had 1,474 patients in intensive care wardens."
While the number of hospital admissions shows a clear trend, the number of fatalities keeps going up, reaching 196 per day on average.
About 6,900 people tested positive for coronavirus each day, but the real number is probably higher as only people with clear symptoms are being tested according to the new test strategy. Still, this number is 48 percent down on the week, and the testing strategy had already been adapted on 21 October, which makes a comparison useful.
It looks as if we have had the peak of intensive care patients in our hospitals