Hospitalizations in Belgium linked to the coronavirus, reach the peak of the first wave.

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ISOPIX / SIPA

Belgium is becoming the country in the world where the coronavirus circulates the most intensely.

This Wednesday, Belgian hospitals had almost as many patients as at the peak of the first wave in early spring, according to official figures.

On Tuesday, the country of 11.5 million people recorded 689 new hospital admissions, breaking the all-time record set on March 28, of 629 admissions.

Result: there were a total of 5,554 patients in hospitals, very close to the peak recorded on April 6 (5,759), according to data from the Belgian public health institute Sciensano.

In Belgium, where a further tightening of restrictions could be announced on Friday, the incidence rate of the virus in the population is the highest in the world, if we except the small principality of Andorra.

891 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants

Nearly 891 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants have been recorded in the last seven days in the kingdom, against 826 in the Czech Republic, the second most affected country (excluding micro-states).

Neighboring countries like France (397) and the Netherlands (394) are respectively 9th and 10th in this ranking.

Figures from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) also put Belgium in the lead.

Around 1,400 new cases have been counted in the past two weeks per 100,000 inhabitants.

No meeting with more than four

Cafés and restaurants have been closed in Belgium since October 19, and a curfew is imposed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in two of the country's three regions (from midnight to 5 a.m. in Flanders).

It is forbidden to gather more than four, even outside.

The region of Brussels and Wallonia (the French-speaking south) last weekend toughened the measures of the federal government, followed Tuesday by Flanders, which imposes from Friday the closure of theaters and sports clubs.

A new crisis meeting around Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, involving experts, is scheduled for Friday.

In total Belgium recorded 347,289 cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, the pandemic having caused 11,038 deaths.

On Monday alone, there were more than 100 deaths (104), a milestone that had never been reached since April 29 (107).

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