More than 30,000 people have died from the coronavirus since the start of the epidemic in Belgium, virologist Steven Van Gucht said on Monday. The virus will have wreaked the greatest havoc in 2020 with two fairly heavy waves, this first year of Covid accounting for 72% of total deaths. “Mortality that year was particularly high. You have to go back to the Spanish flu at the beginning of the 20th century to find excess mortality of this type”, commented Mr. Van Gucht.
Excess mortality figures make it possible to measure the impact of the coronavirus. “Thousands of additional deaths in 2020, which we don’t normally see. This corresponds to the corona figures that have been recorded. So we see that the coronavirus has played a big role (in the death statistics)”, adds the scientist.
Steven Van Gucht believes that the vaccination campaign for the third dose (booster) has borne fruit and has contributed to reducing mortality this year. According to the latest data, anyone who has received a third dose of the vaccine is six times less likely to die from Covid.
The counter of the Sciensano public health institute is still stopped at 29,920 deaths, but it dates back to Friday. The next update to outbreak figures is due on Tuesday.
