Infectious diseases expert Erika Vlieghe: "As the number people hospitalised increases, the number of fatalities will increase too”

The infectious diseases expert Erika Vlieghe has told VRT News that we can expect the number of deaths from COVID-19 in Belgium to increase during the coming days and weeks. Professor Vlieghe was responding to comments made by the Leuven University (KUL) virologist Marc Van Ranst in Tuesday’s edition of the daily ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’. Professor Van Ranst told the paper that he expects that soon dozens of people will be dying from COVID-19 in Belgium every day. 

During the past few weeks, the number of COVID-19 fatalities has increased sharply to an average of around 10 per day.

Professor Erika Vlieghe believes that the number of deaths from COVID-19 will continue to increase for some time yet. “We are now already seeing an evolution from just a few deaths a few weeks ago to around 10 per day now. These figures are low but show a significant increase. The more the virus circulates, the more vulnerable people will become ill, be hospitalised, end up in intensive care and possibly eventually die. As more people that are hospitalised, the number of deaths will increase. That is how an epidemic works”.       

A the hight of the first wave of the epidemic back in April 250 people per day were dying of COVID-19 in Belgium. Although the current increase in the number deaths from the virus gives cause for concern, the current daily death toll is just a fraction of what it was then.  

 

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