31 May 2021: It’s only over when it’s over but this shouldn’t necessarily be a hardship…

31 May 2021: Between 21 and 27 May, 1,834 new cases were reported each day. The figure is down with 24% on the week. The incidence, which indicates the average number of new cases per day per 100,000 inhabitants, reached 248.7 and the reproduction rate of the coronavirus in Belgium has now gone down to 0.80. Last Saturday, a total of 1,210 people were in hospital as a result of the coronavirus of whom 452 patients were being treated in intensive care. Whilst we all like to believe that the end is near, vaccinologists warned that in order to ensure protection against new variants of coronavirus, including the one first detected in India, 90% of the population needs to be vaccinated to beat the pandemic.  Until now the goal had been at least 70%. Also, whilst yesterday we all were cheering that the end of mandatory face masks was in sight the interior minister Annelies Verlinden stressed in an interview on national TV that we would need to stay masked in busy areas for a while. I guess we’ll need to hang in there but looking at the hustle and bustle downtown Ghent this shouldn’t necessarily be a hardship - Ghent, Belgium.