First autumn wave of coronavirus on its way back, but Van Gucht expects a new increase in infections Coronavirus what you need to know

Van Gucht emphasizes on Friday that the first autumn wave has gradually returned, but warns that the infection figures may rise again in the coming weeks, given the emergence of the BQ.1 variant.

He also emphasizes that Belgium is recording a good turnout internationally with regard to booster vaccination. “But things can be done even better in high-risk groups, especially in Brussels, where the vaccination rate is more than two times lower than in Flanders,” it sounds. “The flu vaccination has also started in the meantime. The flu and COVID vaccine can be administered at the same time without any problem.”

In the video below, Van Gucht explains the importance of the autumn booster shot.

Between 11 and 17 October, 2,528 corona infections were detected daily, a decrease of 18 percent on a weekly basis.

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The reproduction number, which indicates the extent to which the epidemic is increasing or decreasing, is currently 0.883.

On average, 12,070 corona tests were taken daily, almost a quarter (22.81 percent) turned out to be positive.

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In the working population, the 14-day incidence is 44 percent higher than in the previous period. This mainly concerns the sectors with a classically high number of infections due to frequent close contact between their staff and other people, such as healthcare, primary and secondary schools and the social sector. In addition, an increase in personnel in various public sectors and production companies is now also noticeable.

The number of hospital admissions stabilized in the period from 14 to 20 October. About 111 corona patients are still hospitalized every day.

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A total of 1,509 people with a corona infection are now in Belgian hospitals (+1 percent), 76 corona patients are in intensive care units (+13 percent).

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On average, 9 people still die every day as a result of a corona infection, an increase of 3 percent compared to the week before.

That brings the death toll in Belgium to 32,846 deaths since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

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In total, almost 3.2 million Belgians have received a two booster shot against the corona virus, accounting for about 34 percent of the total adult Belgian population. This equates to 41 percent of those aged 50 to 64, 66 percent of those aged 65 to 84 and nearly 70 percent of those over 85.

Tens of thousands of Flemish people received an autumn vaccination with an outdated vaccine

Steven Van Gucht: “Corona waves to be expected until spring”

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