An 18-year-old woman died on Sunday in a Brussels hospital of a new coronavirus infection, Belgian authorities reported on Wednesday.
"The girl had comorbidities and died from Covid-19 infection," said a spokesperson for the Sciensano Institute for Epidemiological Watch. According to Belgian media, she suffered from other previous health problems.
He is the second youngest victim in the country. At the end of March, a 12-year-old girl died suddenly in Ghent because of the virus. After three days of fever the teenager's health condition suddenly deteriorated, the health authorities said, speaking of a very rare situation.
"Young people are not immune, the news has just cruelly reminded us," Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès said on Wednesday after a new meeting of the National Security Council devoted to the virus. She offered her condolences to the family and loved ones. According to the French-speaking Liberal leader, the contamination of young adults is currently "about twice as high" as among those over 60.
Slight rebound in the epidemic in Belgium
A death which comes while compliance with the restrictions on assemblies has been reduced in recent weeks in the country. The Prime Minister spoke on Wednesday of the health risks posed by "crowded aperitifs" and other "bar closing parties", described as "super infective events". At the end of June, at the end of the exams and the first days of great heat, Sophie Wilmès had already castigated several festive gatherings endangering "months of collective effort" during confinement.
On Tuesday, the Sciensano institute identified 74 cases of Covid-19 more than the previous day, bringing to 62,781 the total number of cases found in Belgium to date. There has been an average of 95.3 cases reported daily in the past seven days, an increase of 11%. Due to this slight rebound in infections, the authorities have not announced any relaxation of the assembly restrictions in force for both private and public events. Hitherto only imposed on public transport, wearing a mask has become compulsory for anyone aged 12 years and older in Belgium in closed public places (shops, cinemas, libraries, places of worship, etc.) since 11 July.
If the virus is still circulating in the country bordering on France, nothing alarming for all that: the R0, that is to say the index allowing to know how many people contaminate an infected person, remains under 1 (0.86).
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