Fewer virus cases in Belgium after 2nd wave peaks

Belgian authorities said Friday they believed they had reached the peak of the second wave of the coronavirus as infection figures in the country have started to decrease.

"For a few days we have been seeing the figures evolving in the right direction," said Belgian COVID-19 crisis center spokesman, Yves Van Laethem.

"We can say that we saw the peak of that second wave," he added.

But he cautioned that the number of patients requiring intensive care treatment was still rising, although less rapidly, and Belgian authorities are warning against any loosening of current measures, as figures in the country are still dramatically high.

The number of new infections reached an average of 13,213 per day last week, which is a 16 percent decrease in comparison to the previous week.

There are currently 7,282 people hospitalised in Belgium because of COVID-19, including 1,428 in intensive care.

"The real change in the curve is still ahead of us, and not quite there yet," Van Laethem said.

"We need to keep observing measures at the current pace for several long weeks before reaching some kind of safety. Now is obviously not the time to drop everything."

(Image Credit: AP)