14 November 2020: Belgium’s lockdown will last at least 2 more weeks and achieving herd immunity against the coronavirus the natural way is not an option

14 November 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – The number of new hospital admissions, as well as the total number of patients admitted, continues to decrease slightly, however, the number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care has been on a plateau since last week.Therefore, the Belgian government decided yesterday that, despite the slight improvements, the current lockdown measures will stay in place for at least two more weeks. According to Belgian scientists about 10% to 20% of the Belgian population will have antibodies against the coronavirus after this second wave of infections. That is still very far from the 60% to 70% immunity rate we would like to reach to ensure sufficient immunity in the country. Hence, the pursuit of herd immunity through natural infections, i.e. without a vaccine, seems to be a wrong idea. For a deadly virus in a country as Belgium, where almost a third of the population belongs to a risk group, it is a strategy that is way too dangerous. It would take an inhuman toll on human lives. Statisticians estimated that the death toll it would take to achieve sufficient immunity is 60,000 or more. Hence, the only option we have left is to limit our contacts, and to follow the measures until we can create sufficient immunity with the help of a vaccine.Healthcare professionals are warning that any major relaxation prior to the holidays could be disastrous for the health sector and may result in a Christmas rush into the ICU. It looks like I’m going to have to continue my search for interesting and/or beautiful scenes in my hometown for a while.  On display today is another picture of the Belfry Tower – Ghent, Belgium.