Big rise in coronavirus infections in Brussels
According to figures released by the public health science institute Sciensano there has been a spectacular rise in the number of people testing positive for the novel coronavirus in the 19 municipalities that make up The Brussels-Capital Region. Meanwhile, the number of people testing positive for the virus in Antwerp Province has fallen for the first time in 17 days.
Sciensano is keen to stress that before any conclusions can be drawn from Sunday’s figure they will need to be confirmed by the daily figures released over the next few days.
Sciensano’s Professor Boudewijn Catry told journalists that although the weekly average figures for the capital remain stable, the figures for the past couple of days give cause for concern.
"Last week there was an average of 44 cases per day (In Brussels), but this figure, that still has to be confirmed, has been increasing in recent days”.
Other cities such as Liège and Verviers are also seeing an increase in cases, albeit not as spectacular as was the case in Antwerp.
Professor Catry says that what has been happing in Antwerp is the prelude to the second wave just as the clusters of infections in Mons (Hainaut) and Limburg Province were the prelude to the first wave.
Nevertheless, there is some hope with the rise in the number of infections in Antwerp Province appearing to be slowing. However, before we can draw any conclusions this will have to be confirmed by another couple of days' figures.
Currently the number of often seriously ill COVID-19 patients that are being admitted to hospital in Antwerp Province continues to increase. The coming week will be important as towards the end of it we should start to see what if any effect the extra measures to curb the spread of the virus are having on the figures.