An 18-year-old woman died on Sunday in a Brussels hospital following an infection with the new coronavirus, as Belgian authorities report on Wednesday July 15 against the background of a slight rebound in contamination.
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" The girl had comorbidities and died from a Covid-19 infection ," a spokesperson for the Sciensano Institute for Epidemiological Watch told AFP. According to local media, she suffered from other previous health problems.
While the pandemic has killed nearly 10,000 people in the country, this is only the second time that the death of a person under the age of 24 has been reported. In late March, a 12-year-old girl died suddenly in Ghent (north) 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 cruelly reminded us, " Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès said on Wednesday about the second death of a young person. She offered her condolences to the family and loved ones.
Wearing a mandatory mask
According to the French-speaking Liberal leader, the contamination of young adults is currently " about twice as high " as among those over 60. This is probably linked to a lesser respect for assembly restrictions. Ms. Wilmès spoke Wednesday the health risks of " aperitifs crowded " and other " bars close to the holidays ," described as " events super infectors " ( " super spreader 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 (gradually relaxed since early May). On Wednesday, she was speaking at a press conference following a new meeting of the National Security Council devoted to the virus.
Due to a slight rebound in infections since the beginning of July (around 63,000 in total), the authorities have not announced any relaxation of the gathering restrictions in force for both private and public events. Since July 11, wearing a mask has become compulsory for anyone aged 12 and over in Belgium in closed public places (shops, cinemas, libraries, places of worship, etc.). It was previously only taxed on public transport.