0.99

So here’s a bit of good news. While the COVID infection rates in Belgium are still frighteningly high, they are slowly staring to come down and the R number now stands at 0.99. This means that the epidemic in Belgium is finally starting to slow down.

According to the Covid-19 spokesperson Steven Van Gucht, who is also a virologist, it is possible that the second wave has passed its peak:

If these trends continue, Tuesday 27 October was the peak of Belgium’s second wave for the time being, according to Van Gucht.

This is all good news, and the number of hospital admissions has also fallen slightly. That said, intensive care cases have risen and we’re not out of the woods yet.

“It is clear that the efforts are starting to work, but the way down is still a very long one,” he said. “We still have to stick to the current regime for a long time to get into safe waters.”

There is still a long way to go and Belgium still has one of the highest infection rates in the EU, but it’s nice to see a slight glimmer at the end of the tunnel.