A three-year-old girl died of Covid-19 a few days ago in Belgium, Belgian health authorities announced on Friday, specifying that the child had several associated pathologies.
He is the youngest known victim in the country. "This news touches us all deeply, whether as a scientist or as a parent," said Boudewijn Catry, a spokesperson for health authorities in this country, which is experiencing a recent upsurge in cases.
“On average, three people die every day, including recently an 18-year-old,” he added at a press conference, acknowledging that deaths among young people were “rare”. A 12-year-old child succumbed to the virus last March.
Belgium, which has 64,847 cases of Covid-19 and 9,812 deaths, is experiencing an increase in contamination.
Increase in cases
The number of new infections during the period July 14 to 20 increased by 89% from the previous week. The increase is observed in all provinces, with the exception of Walloon Brabant.
On average over the past week, 220.6 new cases per day were diagnosed.
The increase affects all age groups but it is more pronounced in the working population (under 60): it represents 85% of all cases diagnosed this last week, according to health authorities.
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Faced with this increase, Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès announced the strengthening of protective measures: wearing a mask is now mandatory in "any place with high traffic", such as markets, flea markets, shopping streets, hotels, restaurants and cafes.
The mask was already compulsory since July 11 in public transport, shops, cinemas, places of worship or even museums and libraries.
The “high traffic” areas where the mask must now be worn will be defined by the local authorities.
Belgium is one of the countries with the highest number of deaths from Covid-19 compared to its population, with 85 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
The census by the Belgian authorities of coronavirus deaths is one of the most exhaustive in the world since deaths possibly linked to the virus are included without this having been proven by a test.
