11 December 2020: Do we need to brace for a third wave?

11 December 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – Measured in comparison with the previous week the corona figures continue to fall, but the drop in the average number of new cases per day and the number of hospitalisations is hardly falling. Each day around 2,000 new cases are confirmed across Belgium and in Flanders the number of cases is rising again. Data suggests that infections are especially passed on within households.  The virus usually reaches households as a result of close contacts with friends and relatives at home and outdoors or via colleagues at work. Mobile phone data show an increase in mobility and an increased mobility often heralds an increase in the number of cases. All of these findings underpin the need for homeworking. The figures also reveal a big increase among the young: up 33% in the 0-10 age category, up 41% among teenagers. Under 20’s account for 14% of all cases. Despite these findings, virologists don’t believe that schools are the engine of infection because studies show that the virus is transmitted more readily from child to adult and from adult to child than among children themselves. Nevertheless, the reopening of schools involving 2 million children must have been playing a role albeit not at the same level as people working less from home. I’ll definitely stop the occasional corona proof trips to the office and shelter at home for the rest of the year enjoying the beauty of my hometown. On display today is another vignette of the fiery dragons warming up the city during this unprecedented crisis – Ghent, Belgium