Belgium’s daily average new coronavirus infections continue to drop, according to the latest figures published by the Sciensano public health institute on Thursday.

Between 21 and 27 December, an average of 1,789.9 new people tested positive per day over the past week, which is a 29% decrease compared to the week before.

The total number of confirmed cases in Belgium since the beginning of the pandemic is 644,242. The total reflects all people in Belgium who have been infected, and includes confirmed active cases as well as patients who have since recovered, or died as a result of the virus.

Over the past two weeks, 262.8 infections were confirmed per 100,000 inhabitants, which is a 6% decrease compared to the two weeks before.

Between 24 and 30 December, an average of 154.3 patients was admitted to hospital, which is 15% fewer than the week before.

In total, 2,338 coronavirus patients are currently in hospital, or 85 fewer than yesterday. Of all patients, 496 are in intensive care, which is 14 fewer than yesterday. A total of 264 patients are on a ventilator – 10 fewer than yesterday.

From 21 to 27 December, an average number of 74 deaths occurred per day, marking a 20.7% decrease compared to the week before.

The total number of deaths in the country since the beginning of the pandemic is currently 19,441.

Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 6,900,875 tests have been carried out. Of those tests, an average of 29,512.9 were taken per day over the past week, with a positivity rate of 7.1%. That means that one in fourteen people who get tested receive a positive result.

The percentage went down by 0.5% compared to last week, along with a 24% decrease in testing.

The reproduction rate, finally, remains at 0.92, which means that a person infected with coronavirus infects fewer than one other person on average.