Covid-19 update: number of IC patients reaches six-week low
Corona figures in Belgium keep improving, with the number of patients in intensive care units dipping below 600 again. The daily number of hospitalisations stands at 135 now, a 22-percent drop on the week.
The week running to Christmas saw 6,199 new corona cases each day, a 25-percent decrease on the week. Each 100 corona tests taken showed 11 positive results.
An average of 135 corona patients had to be taken to hospital each day between 22 and 28 December. This is 22 percent down on the week. Belgian hospitals are now reporting a total of 1,903 corona patients (compared to 1,959 yesterday).
581 patients are in intensive care units (-18 percent on the week). It's the first time since 18 November that the figure drops below 600. 348 of them are on ventilators (-16 percent).
The number of daily fatalities has shrunk to 33 each day (-11 percent). While the figures are still improving, the omicron variant is taking over at a fast pace. While it is more contagious, it shows milder symptoms which resemble a cold (throat pain, a running nose...) Earlier symptoms of the delta variant (fever, the loss of taste) seem less frequent.