Omikron is already providing infection rates among young people and in Brussels
Yes, the corona figures are still falling, but there are still rises here and there. For example, the number of infections in Brussels and also among 20 to 29-year-olds is increasing again.
The daily bulletin that we receive from Sciensano also today shows a downward trend in all important statistics in our country. Fewer infections, fewer hospital admissions, fewer beds occupied in intensive care. But in addition to those averages, a new increase is also emerging. In the age group of 20 to 29-year-olds, the number of infections rose slightly by 3 percent. And in Brussels, the general figures are also rising again: by 4 percent.
That’s because there are actually two versions of the coronavirus circulating. On the one hand, delta is decreasing, initially omikron is on the rise. And it is that omikron that now shows its face for the first time. ‘These are indeed the first signs,’ says Geert Molenberghs, biostatistician at Hasselt University. ‘It is not unusual for a new wave to pick up, which first starts in the somewhat younger groups: they often have more contacts. That will probably have been in the first waves, but when we had less visibility.’
Numbers very very fast
“We don’t know when those other age groups and other regions will follow. What’s more: it is striking that the numbers are actually falling. In West Flanders, the infections have still reached -40 percent, Limburg records -38 percent.’ The hospitals are also doing better. ‘With 613 beds, there is still a lot of space occupied in intensive care, but we are already at a total decrease of 200 beds.’
• Map | View the number of new infections and booster shots in your municipality
In the past, experts have seen the phenomenon: curves that fell very slowly. ‘In the past, the descent continued for months, we saw that in waves one and two,’ says Molenberghs. ‘In the third wave, we saw that intensive care was phased out faster than it was being built up. We see that now: we assume that it also has to do with the vaccination, and that even those who are seriously ill still enjoy a little protection.’