The decline in the number of Belgians contracting the coronavirus appears to be halting. Some more corona patients were even admitted to the hospital.
“That is a bit worrisome,” says virologist Steven Van Gucht, who speaks on behalf of the Belgian corona crisis centre.
Van Gucht sees “still a slight decrease” in the number of corona infections and hospital admissions. “But if we look at the last three days like this, we can almost speak of a stabilization”, certainly in Flanders and the province of Luxembourg.
It is still guesswork what exactly is going on, the virologist said at a new press conference from the crisis centre.
He does not rule out that Belgians who go to work or shop across the border in the Netherlands and Luxembourg, where the coronavirus is currently more prevalent than in Belgium, will lend a hand to the virus. news channel Radio 1.
The virus is also spreading more among young children, who have been going back to school for three weeks.
The number of corona patients in the hospital, taken over a week, has increased by 2 percent compared to Sunday. Since the second wave peaked at the beginning of November, it has actually become quieter in the hospitals. There are now more than 3,200 people with the virus in a hospital bed.
“We all have to go the extra mile”, says Van Gucht, and certainly be careful with the holidays. In that case, he says, additional corona measures are not necessary, and the decline will continue.