Virologist says the number of hospitalisations is rising in Flanders
At Monday morning’s National Crisis Centre press conference the virologist Steven Van Gucht said that if the number of new hospital admissions of patients with COVID-19 continues to stagnate we will soon reach a point at which the number of patients that are hospitalised with the virus will start to stagnate too, both generally and on intensive care wards. Professor Van Gucht also pointed to regional differences in the hospitalisation figures. In Flanders the number of people with COVID-19 that are being hospitalised is rising, while it continues to fall in Brussels and in Wallonia.
The virologist added that the number of people testing positive for the virus is increasing (+8%) in Flanders. The increase is greatest in East and West Flanders. Meanwhile, the number of positive test results continues to fall in Wallonia and Brussels, albeit at a slower rate than had been the case.
The rise in the number of positive tests is greatest (+21%) among children under the age of 10. In absolute figures the number people testing positive is highest among people in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s.
Most people are sticking to the rules
The National Crisis Centre’s Yves Stevens told the press conference that the vast majority of the population is following the measures that have been introduced to curb the spread of COVID-19. This is why we were we able to bend the coronavirus curve relatively quickly. However, the curve has flattened out at a level that is still too high. There are still too many people testing positive, too many people with the virus requiring hospital treatment and too many deaths.
Yves Stevens called on of us to keep up our efforts during the forthcoming Christmas celebration. “A peak is fine at the top of a Christmas tree, but we absolutely must avoid a new peak in the corona curve. A lot of people have the habit of spending Christmas at the seaside or in the Ardennes. They can, but the rules on social contacts apply to the whole of Belgium. Please respect them”.