5 April 2020 Update From A Locked Down Ghent

Yesterday 503 have been hospitalised in Belgium, bringing the total to 7,773, of whom 1,245 are in intensive care, 40 in the last 24 hours. Since the number of diagnoses is reliant on the number of people tested that number is a more reliable indicator of the progress of the epidemic than either the number of diagnoses or the number of deaths. Based on that number experts said that we are gaining control over the epidemic. Hospital admissions peaked on March 28, with 629 admissions in 24 hours. Since then the trend has been downward, with yesterday’s figure the lowest since the peak. But even with the number of cases starting to fall we are still far from the end. It is clear, the current strategy of shutting down large parts of society is not sustainable in the long-term. The social and economic damage would be catastrophic. Belgium’s Budget Minister said that the economic impact of the corona crisis will be at least twice as heavy as that of the 2008 financial crisis. It will be almost as bad as in 1929, he said. So, tighten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride out… Stay Safe, Stay Healthy - Kuiperskaai, Ghent, Belgium