Belgium has been affected the most by the COVID-19 pandemic; according to a new study by the UZ Gent, Belgium has the highest record of deaths due to the virus, especially compared to the number of infections.
Belgium has suffered a more extended period of COVID-19 virus than other Western European countries in the last two years. As a result, Belgium has recorded the highest death rate.
John Crombez, a researcher in Belgian health care at Ghent University Hospital, asserted, “During the coronavirus crisis, we have always looked at the number of infections: increases and decreases in the figures. In our study, we mainly looked at the severity of the pandemic.”
Crombez and his fellow researcher Rob De Staelen have analysed the peak periods in which they found a lot more cases of COVID-19 virus and deaths.
The longer and the more frequent those periods, the higher the severity. In Western Europe, Belgium did not score well, nor did Portugal and the United Kingdom.
Astonishingly, Belgium was very hard hit in proportion to the number of deaths compared to the number of infections. Experts repeatedly stated that Belgium’s death rate was so high because of over-reporting, but researchers said this is only partly true: even when this factor was taken into account. Belgium also stood out.
“The health status before the coronavirus crisis partly explains how hard a country is hit in the number of deaths,” said Crombez. “Countries were divided into four categories on the basis of various health indicators, such as causes of death. Belgium was in the second-worst category.”
