18 April 2021: Are the cherry trees that are in full bloom announcing the beginning of the end?

18 April 2021: The seven-day daily average of new hospital admissions and deaths are coming down ahead of tomorrow’s relaxed restrictions. In total, 3,015 coronavirus patients were in hospital on Friday, 17 fewer than the day before, and 923 patients were in intensive care units. The number of new infections is still going up albeit at a much slower pace. From 7 to 14 April, an average of 3,637 new people tested positive per day, up by 1% from the seven-day average of the week before. Over the past two weeks, 447.9 infections were confirmed per 100,000 inhabitants and the reproduction rate stands at 0.94. The good news is that as of last Friday a total of 2,136,300 people have received at least one dose of the vaccine or 23.2% of the population aged 18 and older. The vaccination campaign in Belgium is currently in full swing. However, things will slow down somewhat during the next two weeks. While this week around 358,000 people have been vaccinated, 233,000 vaccinations are planned for the next week. The reason for the temporary slowdown is simple. Fewer vaccines will be available during the coming two weeks. Currently people in their early 70s are being vaccinated in Flanders and it will be the turn of people in their 60s next week. Once everyone over the age of 65 has been vaccinated it will be the turn of people with underlying medical conditions. With the cherry trees in full bloom there is hope that we are at the beginning of the end of the pandemic - Ghent, Belgium.