12 June 2021: We are emerging out of the darkness into the light…

12 June 2021: A recent study carried out by Sciensano, the Belgian public health institute, has found that the coronavirus vaccines are proving highly effective. The study found that no more that 3 out of every 1,000 people that had already been fully immunised became infected with the coronavirus. Moreover, of these 2 out 3 showed no symptoms. There is more good news… From Wednesday, 16 June Belgium, as one of the first European countries, will start issuing the European Digital COVID Certificate. It will be issued to people that have been fully immunised for at least two weeks, have had and recovered from coronavirus within the past 6 months or have had a PCR test and tested negative for coronavirus prior to their departure. The only worrying news is that whilst the British variant is still dominant in Belgium, the more infectious Indian variant (delta variant) is gaining ground. Last week it accounted for 1.3% of all infections, this is 3.9% this week. Meanwhile, the corona figures continue to fall sharply. There are currently 820 COVID-19 patients being cared for in Belgian hospitals; of those hospitalised 302 are on intensive care wards. During the week from 2 to 8 June an average of 1,078people in Belgium tested positive for the coronavirus. This is 37% down on the figures from the previous week. The positivity rate dropped to 3.3 and the reproductive rate fell to 0.83. Finally, it looks like we are emerging out of the darkness into the light… Tweebruggenstraat, Ghent, Belgium.