28 February 2021: Belgian virologists fears that the third wave is around the corner…

28 February 2021: All conditions for a third wave of the Coronavirus are present in Belgium, including many converging elements. First of all, there was a increase in new infections during the week. In the week to 24 February on average 2400 people tested positive each day. This figure is up 23% on the week. On Friday 26 February more than 200 COVID-19 patients were admitted to Belgian hospitals. This is the highest daily admissions tally since the end of December. Moreover, the reproduction rate has been above 1 for a number of days and is now 1.12. There is also a stronger presence of the more contagious British strain among the new infections in Belgium. Since December, the proportion of cases of this variant has kept on increasing. Finally, a study by the University of Antwerp on people’s compliance and motivation with regard to social distancing and health measures related to COVID-19 shows a very marked drop in the past 10 days in compliance and an increase in close contacts. All of this together makes up for a combustible situation. Yesterday we avoided the city and went for a hike in the wetland northeast from Ghent – Waasland, Belgium.