24 December 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – The pandemic in Belgium seems to be more or less under control with the latest figures showing a slight increase in the number of new confirmed cases, while hospitalisations remain stable and deaths edged lower. But overall, the numbers are still way too high. There are 2,560 patients being treated in hospital for Covid of which 539 are receiving ICU care and on average 2,523 people a day are testing positive over the last week. The good news is that the overwhelming majority of the Belgian population is following the rules. Also, three-quarters of them say that they will stick to corona restrictions during the festive period. Let’s hope we will do better than that. With the first coronavirus vaccines developed by Pfizer and BioNTech leaving Pfizer's factory in Puurs, Belgium and the Moderna vaccine scheduled to receiving authorization by the EMA in the second half of January, we now must turn our attention to the next challenge ahead of us: supporting people in vaccine adoption. In Belgium a survey revealed that 60% of people say they are prepared to get vaccinated, 25% are still hesitating, while 15% won’t get the jab. The difference between 60% of Belgians and 70% getting vaccinated could mean saving a lot of lives. Today’s picture is another vignette of downtown Ghent during these unprecedented times – Ghent, Belgium.

With Corona containment measures and mandatory social distancing, I have the sad feeling of living behind a barrier. Freedom is next door and we can't enjoy it any longer.

22 March 2021: The number of new infections continue to soar. In the week to 18 March 3867 people tested positive. The figure is up 41% on the week. Some experts are saying that we relaxed the measures to curb the spread of the virus far too quickly at a high level of an average of 2,000 to 3,000 new infections per day. They claim that these infections became a smouldering fire that is now rekindling and are advocating a new lockdown, a real one, where no one goes to work and where schools close. Others, however, are not sure if a complete lockdown is necessary. They are arguing to keep the schools open but to maximize efforts in all sectors and situations around them. Whatever politicians will finally decide it’s becoming crystal clear that extra measures will be needed to get the pandemic back under control. On display today is a vignette of Grand Square of Kortrijk in the midst of this unprecedented health crisis – Kortrijk, Belgium.

Away from the pavement

Dublin - Ireland

10 November 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – The corona restrictions are beginning to pay off, with the number of hospitalisations dropping and the number of new infections going down strongly. Last week, 597 patients had to be taken to hospital each day on average, coming from 656 the week before. Yesterday's figure came in at 400, while 294 patients were allowed to return home again. The best news we’ve heard in a long time came from Pfizer announcing yesterday that an early analysis of its coronavirus vaccine trial suggested the vaccine was robustly effective in preventing Covid-19. A first analysis of the data found that the vaccine that they developed together with the German pharma company BioNTech was more than 90 percent effective in preventing the disease among trial volunteers. If the results hold up, that level of protection would put it on par with highly effective childhood vaccines for diseases such as measles. Other interesting reading was the outcome of a study of 186 coronavirus patients at a Belgian hospital revealing that a lack of sufficient vitamin D on admission can be linked to increased risk of severity and death from a Covid-19 infection. I knew that Vitamin D stimulates the absorption of calcium and magnesium but did not know that it strengthens and regulates the immune system. Fully loaded with vitamins and supplements I continue my search for eye-catching scenes in my hometown. On display today is the old post office on the Korenmarkt – Korenmarkt, Ghent, Belgium.

22 November 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – Last Friday 313 patients with coronavirus were admitted to Belgian hospitals. 489 COVID-19 patients were discharged. During the last week an average of 3,939 people tested positive for the coronavirus every day. Although we passed the peak of the second wave, we still have a very long way to go. In the Netherlands 5,974 new cases were reported last Friday. Despite that the Dutch situation remains, as a minimum, as worrying as in Belgium, some Belgians are crossing the border to enjoy amusement parks and other attractions. Not a smart move! Meanwhile, we continue our staycation in our hometown. On display today is a picture from the new bicycle bridge crossing the Scheldt – Ghent, Belgium.

2 October 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – After a wait of 493 days since the last federal election, Belgium has a new government and a new prime minister: Alexander De Croo (Flemish liberal). De Croo will spearhead a coalition of 7 parties (the Flemish and Francophone liberals, the Flemish and Francophone socialists, the Flemish and French greens and the Flemish Christian democrats) in steering our country through the aftershocks of the pandemic. Ideologically these parties have very little in common and many people are saying that the main motivation to unite the seven parties was the desire to avoid new elections and by doing so avoiding that the extreme right and extreme left would further gain ground. The work that awaits this patchwork political project is immense. The impact of the coronavirus has been huge; we just crossed the 10,000-death mark and the economy has been shattered. The long period since the previous government fell and the long time the negotiations lasted, resulted in many people turning their backs to politics. Therefore, the biggest challenge of all for the government will be to restore faith and confidence in the leadership of our country. Let’s hope they succeed and that the screeching policy zigzags we’ve experienced since the start of the pandemic are brought to a grinding halt. Today’s picture of downtown Ghent I took yesterday in between two rain showers and two videocalls…:-) Ghent, Belgium

4 October 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – The latest figures on the coronavirus pandemic in Belgium show a further rise in the 7-day rolling average of people testing positive for SAR-CoV-2. During the latest 7-day period an average of 1,759 people tested positive for coronavirus each day. Last Tuesday a record 2,778 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus. This is the highest number of new infections ever recorded since the first cases of the virus were recorded here 7 months ago. Also, in The Netherlands the situation is deteriorating. Nearly four thousand people tested positive yesterday. With the number of confirmed infections, hospitalisations and deaths from COVID-19 all rising experts are expressing their unease at the current situation. Needless to say, that the rise in the number of coronavirus cases put puts pressure on those working in first line medical care and in the hospitals and that other forms of medical care are coming under threat. You don’t need to be a genius to understand that governments need to have a good think about possible new measures. Last Friday, we were looking for wisdom in the Solvay Library in Brussels. The historical art building dates from 1902 and resonates with brilliant minds. Einstein, Bohr and other Nobel Prize scientists gathered here for the famous Solvay Conferences – Leopold Park, Brussels, Belgium.

16 May 2021: The latest figures on the coronavirus pandemic released by the public health institute show a continuation of the positive trend set over the past couple of weeks. The number of hospitalisations and deaths of people with COVID-19 continue to fall as does the number of people testing positive for the virus. There are currently 1,918 COVID-19 patients being cared for in hospitals, a fall of 17% on a week ago. Of these 643 (-12%) are on intensive care wards. During the week from 6 to 12 May an average of 2,633 people tested positive for coronavirus each day. This is down 11% on the average for the previous week. Of the people tested, 6.1% were diagnosed positive, a fall of 0.8 percentage points on the previous week. Although an improvement this is still over the 5% positivity rate threshold above which the WHO considers an epidemic to be “giving cause for concern”. The reproduction rate stands at 0.89. Yesterday it was announced that we most likely will get a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine at the end of the year. It is still to be decided whether everyone will be offered a booster jab or if it only will be for the at-risk groups. Studies are still being carried out. Despite the encouraging figures I’m still holding my breath when I’m looking at the hustle and bustle in the historical city center of Ghent. Today’s picture shows people enjoying the re-opened outdoor hospitality late yesterday afternoon – Ghent, Belgium.

27 October 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – An enormous amount of virus is circulating in our country. Over 1% of the population, and according to one lead virologist possibly up to 5% are actively shedding virus loads. 757 patients are receiving critical care. Their number is doubling every eight days. Within less than a fortnight 2,000 patients will be in critical care and that is the maximum capacity of ICU beds in Belgium. Since it takes ten days for a measure to show result Flanders needs to act now! The house is on fire and we shouldn’t wait until fire has destroyed half our house before we take clearer action another top virologists said, responding to the pronouncements of the Flemish Prime Minister Jan Jambon, a populist of the right wing nationalist party, who said last Sunday that as a responsible politicians he must keep a cool head and that he should not start hosing down his house because a fire might occur in the future. Anyhow, criticism from scientists, members of the federal government, governors and the healthcare staff in general made him change his mind. He is now calling for an extra council with his regional ministers later today. Let’s hope that the Flemish government will follow Brussels, the French speaking part of Belgium and our neighboring countries and will finally take the appropriate measures to address the current situation. One thing is sure we’re moving into a long and dark winter – Ghent, Belgium.

24 February 2021: In the week to 20 February on average 2170 people tested positive each day in Belgium. The figure is up 18% on the week. In the same period on average 119 people were hospitalized, and 34 fatalities were reported. These numbers are down respectively with 1% and 11%. Other bad news was that both Moderna and AstraZeneca adjusted the number of doses they would deliver at the end of this month, which means people aged over 65 now will not receive their first jabs until 22 or 29 March, instead of earlier in the same month, as was initially planned. This starts looking like a never-ending roller coaster, there's times of highs and lows, going slow, going fast… Very frustrating! To keep my sanity intact, I keep picturing Ghent in all its facets. On display today is another mural from Dok Noord – Ghent, Belgium.

3 October 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – Yesterday we woke up with the news that President Trump and FLOTUS tested positive for SAR-CoV-2. The result came after he spent months playing down the severity of the outbreak that has killed more than 1 million people worldwide and hours after insisting that the end of the pandemic is in sight. This morning we learned that the president had a low-grade fever, congestion and a cough. A couple of hours later aids close to the President said that since his symptoms worsened as the hours wore on, he was flown to the Walter Reed Medical Center. What a year it has been so far and it’s not over yet… The threats have come in rapid succession: terrorism, the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and last not least the quaking of our democracy in the Western world. Speculation about the President’s health will only fray nerves and further destabilize the situation and the conspiracy theorists and disinformation trolls will do their best to maximize the turmoil. So, get well, Mr. President for your sake and for the sake of the world. Today’s picture is from 4 years ago when we were enjoying a fall leaf-peeping trip in New England. The world seemed to be a better place at that time - Bar Harbor, ME, USA

There have been mixed reactions to yesterday’s announcements by the government of the changes to the coronavirus regulation which consisted generally of a lifting of restrictions. Whilst the hospitality and travel industry welcomed the decisions, healthcare professionals expressed concerns that too many measures are relaxed at the same time and that there is a chance that the relaxations are going too fast compared to the number of vaccinations. Their main concern is a potential surge of the Delta variant, formerly known as the India variant. They are basically okay with the things that are allowed in open air but are finding indoor activities too risky and are hoping that people will remain careful. Otherwise, they are afraid we will see an increase again from the end of June, which is predicted by the statisticians. Meanwhile, the number of people with the virus that are being hospitalised continues to fall. There are currently 1,007 COVID-19 patients being cared for in Belgian hospitals; of those hospitalised 341 are on intensive care wards. During the week from 27 to 2 June an average of 1,578 people in Belgium tested positive for the coronavirus. This is 15% down on the figures for the previous week. The positivity rate remains at 0.44 and the reproductive rate is slightly up to 0.87. On Thursday 3 June (the latest date for which figures are available) 4,882,939 had been given their first dose of coronavirus vaccine. This is 53% of the adult population. Of these 2,351,884 are fully immunised. On display today is another mural from Dok Noord – Ghent, Belgium.

12 December 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – In a lot of European countries infections are on the rise. Countries such as France and Germany have already announced stricter measures to try and curb the spread of the virus. In Belgium the fall in the figures relating to the coronavirus pandemic came to a near standstill. One can only guess what the primary reason is for this worrying situation. For quite a time we didn’t test people without symptoms that had had a high-risk contact. This provided opportunities for networks to form that went under the radar and are only emerging now. However, this cannot be the only reason. The reopening of the shops at the start of the month and the reopening of schools after the extended half-term break can also have had an impact on the figures. Children being at school, means that their parents can move about more easily and can for example go into to the office. This combined with the reopening of the shops means that people are more mobile and in turn this can lead to an increase in the number of infections. Let’s stick to the rules, continue to drive compliance and hope that the fall will continue once again. The better everyone respects the measures to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus, the sooner they can be relaxed. Today’s picture is a vignette of one of my corona walks earlier this month. It’s not one of my typical postcard pictures but I guess occasionally we are all drawn to imperfection and fascinated by it – Ghent, Belgium.

18 October 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – Corona figures continue to increase. Last Tuesday, for a first time, 10,369 people tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The figure is nearly double the 5,686 counted the previous Tuesday. In Germany, for comparison, 7,830 persons tested positive for the virus yesterday. In addition, 2,098 people are currently being treated in hospital and 358 are receiving critical care in Belgium. As of tomorrow, the additional measures that were announced yesterday will finally become effective. Police already announced that they will carry out more checks during their routine work but that there also will be dedicated corona patrols out and about to enforce compliance to the new measures. Several of Belgium’s new measures, such as the shutdown of bars and restaurants, the ban on selling alcohol after 8:00 PM and the obligation to telework where possible, overlap strongly with those introduced as a “partial lockdown” by the Netherlands earlier this week. However, despite going one step further than the Dutch approach by also imposing a curfew between midnight and 5:00 AM in Belgium one is not speaking of a “partial lockdown”. The measures that will be put in place as of tomorrow are precisely to avoid another lockdown like the one in March. Anyhow, at the end of the day the choice of words really doesn’t matter, we’re all in this situation together and we will need to get through it together. Today’s silhouettes on the beach in Knokke are meant to cheer you up during these challenging times – Albertstrand, Knokke, Belgium.

2 May 2021: The daily number of hospitalisations has dipped below 200 per day. The total number of patients in our hospitals is 2,707 of which 854 are staying in intensive care. On average during the last seven-day observation period, the week to 28 April, 3,121 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed each day. The figure is down 14% on the week. The reproduction rate continues to stand at 0,89. In summary, the epidemic is shrinking but the pressure on our hospitals remains high. Meanwhile, protest against the measures to curb the spread of the virus and civil disobedience is increasing. In Brussels the police had to use its water cannons to evacuate crowds from Bois de la Cambre, our capital’s largest park, to stop “La Boum 2” an unauthorized party and in Middelkerke, a Belgian sea resort, the mayor reopened ‘terraces’ one week earlier through a legal loophole. In short, striking the right balance between saving lives from coronavirus, and driving compliance to the measures is going to be the challenge for the weeks to come. Today, I’m sending you some postcard greetings from Ghent under a semi-lockdown – Ghent, Belgium.

14 January 2021: On average during the week to 10 January 2,082 people a day tested positive for coronavirus. The figure is up 28% on the week. It needs to be noted, however, that there was far more testing than during the previous week that included the New Year’s Day holiday. Also, the first case of the South African coronavirus variant, which is thought to be more infectious, has been found in Belgium. Amidst the storm of the resurgent pandemic a rapid roll-out of the vaccine should give us hope. Yesterday the Flemish government announced that its ambition was for everybody to get at least their first jab before next summer. Hope is very good for breakfast but very bad for dinner, so we’re all expecting to see significant progress in the weeks to come. On display today is another seascape from Saturday’s hike in De Haan – De Haan, Belgium.

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Louisiana

31,815 confirmed cases

2,242 deaths

Temp

96.9am

977pm

20 January 2021: The number of cases continued to fall slightly for the second day in a row. On average during the week to 16 January 1,988 people a day tested positive for the coronavirus, that is down 5% on the week. Good news, but the plateau we seem to have reached is still too high. In conjunction with the emergence of new variants there is no room for complacency. Nevertheless, we’re seeing that more people are traveling to work, and that the government, whilst discouraging non-essential travel, is still opposing a complete travel ban. Meanwhile, a total of 285,775 Covid-19 vaccines have been delivered to our country as of last Sunday (281,775 Pfizer/BioNTech and 4,000 Moderna) and 112,293 people have received the first dose of the vaccine as of Monday 18 January. Today’s picture reminded me that it has been a while since I last was dragging my luggage around. For every disadvantage there is an advantage…:-) Ghent, Belgium

5 December 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – Belgium is currently ranked in the top 5 of countries with the least number of confirmed Covid-19 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. We currently have an incidence of 248 new confirmed infections per 100,000 inhabitants over the past two weeks. The country with the best control of the virus is Iceland, with 58 confirmed cases per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Ireland (82), Finland (108) and Norway (122). Although the coronavirus figures continue to fall in Belgium the rate at which the number of new confirmed infections is falling is slowing down. This is probably the consequence of more widespread testing since the testing strategy was modified on 23 November (since then people that have had a high-risk contact or have returned from a red zone area but don’t display symptoms can also be tested), and an increase of infections among children, particularly children under the age of 10. This is probably linked to the reopening of schools after the half term break. Anyhow, if the number of confirmed new infections is falling by half every 18 days as it is now, it will be the end of December before we will have a weekly average that is under the threshold level of 800 confirmed infections per day. 800 confirmed new infections and 75 hospital admissions per day for 14 days are the numbers we need to achieve before the government is willing to discuss any relaxation of the measures designed to curb the spread of the virus. There is only one way going forward and that is sticking to the rules. As a minimum we can enjoy a city that is decorated with thousands of lights - Korenlei, Ghent, Belgium

The Dark Ages had been defined by overpopulation, famine and economic hardship. Then the sudden arrival of the Black Death was a horrific mass extinction event; for the survivors the pandemic created an abundance of food and resources in general as well as opportunity: The Renaissance ensued.

Now, humanity faces the old plague nightmare anew. The youngest and fittest will definitely survive and so will the ones with the strongest immune system. Life and unfathomable progress will thrive once again. Such an optimistic aspect can be glimpsed through the medieval gravestones (round-shaped crosses) scattered on the ground of a long-forgotten resting place close to Chalkēdona, N. Greece. Rumour has it that this cemetery —dating from 14th century AD— belonged to the Bogomil religious sect.

4 November 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic - It’s early morning in Europe and it’s becoming clear that what everybody had hoped for — a definitive win that would end this long and bitter campaign for good — is unlikely to materialise. Early exit polls are showing that those concerned about the rising SARS-CoV-2 infections are siding with Joe Biden while those who are hustling to reopen the economy are going for President Trump. It’s a close race. Whilst everybody waits eagerly for the outcome of the US elections the corona figures in Belgium are still heading the wrong way. The figures have started to rise less quickly but still the second wave of the pandemic is putting great strain on intensive care units at hospitals across Belgium and the expectation is that the number of hospital admissions will continue to rise until next week. Maximum capacity has been reached in all critical care wards across the Brussels Region and patients are being transferred to other hospital in Belgium or abroad. Also, in Wallonia hospitals are obliged to transfer patients to other hospitals. In Flanders too intensive care wards are reaching saturation levels. Reading the morning papers doesn’t do me any good and I’m trying to find some comfort in the beautiful autumn colours that I pictured during my daily corona walks – De Bijloke, Ghent, Belgium.

6 February 2021: The coronavirus figures show further falls in the number of hospitalisations and deaths among people with COVID-19. Meanwhile, in the week to 2 February on average 2,308 people tested positive each day in Belgium. The figure is up 1% on the week. By 3 February (the most recent date for which figures are available) 307,386 people in Belgium had been given their first dose of coronavirus vaccine. This is 3.3% of the adult population. Every person that is vaccinated is a victory, but we are still not talking about gigantic figures and it will definitely not prevent a third wave. Despite that we still have a long way to go and that we are urged to continue to adhere to the measures that were put in place to curb the spread of the virus, the government has decided that hairdressers will be allowed to reopen from next Saturday. I’m looking very much forward to continuing to document Ghent without having my hear peeking in different directions. In today’s picture I like how the red of “the-black-lives-matter mural” complements the green of the adjacent house – Kruideniersstraat, Ghent, Belgium.

6 October 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – 10 European countries are now colouring red on European coronavirus map, meaning they crossed the threshold of 120 confirmed infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks (Spain 319 the Czech Republic 303, France 245, the Netherlands 231, Belgium 206, Luxembourg 161, Iceland 158, Hungary 129, Denmark 128 and the UK 135). In Belgium, the daily average of new cases has reached 2,100 over the past week with 3,000 people testing positive on some days. What is worse, is that more and more corona patients are ending up in hospital resulting in hospitals, slowly but surely, reaching their full capacity and elective surgery being postponed. Clearly, too many people have resumed normal life because they don’t think it will get that bad. They don’t believe the epidemic will affect them and they have been downplaying the threat in recent weeks. It goes without saying that tweets like “Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life!” from President Trump don’t help to drive awareness of the severeness of the virus and the need for compliance to all measures to contain the pandemic. For me it means that I’m working from home again, staying connected with business by an endless string of Zoom, Teams and BlueJeans meetings. I also restarted my daily corona walks capturing the beauty of my hometown – Emile Braunplein, Ghent, Belgium.

Fourth wave of sars-cov2 in Hanoi

19 March 2021: The numbers of new cases of Covid-19 and hospital admissions are rising sharply. In the week to 15 March 3265 people tested positive, this is an increase of 34% on the week. In the week to 17 March on average 175 patients with Covid were hospitalised each day. The figure is up 16% on the week. Hospitalisations are up for the fifth day in a row. Yesterday the increase was 12%. All experts are worried that a third wave of the pandemic has started. Belgium’s Consultative Committee will meet tomorrow to discuss possible changes to the rules based on the increasing coronavirus. The ongoing vaccination campaign is a race against a changing and mutating virus. Therefore, the good news is that the EMA said yesterday that the AstraZeneca vaccine was safe. Let’s hope that this statement will alleviate concerns about possible side effects and prompt all European countries to resume using it against the resurgent virus. Clearly, we’re fighting an uphill battle against the virus. Today I’m posting another picture from the Aiguille du Midi - French Alps, Chamonix, France.

Objektiv Zeiss Flektogon 4/25 an SONY A5000

Bildflächennutzung ggü. Kleinbild: 43%

Bildflächennutzung ggü. Bildkreis << 25% (Makro)

Once again, the figures show yet another sharp rise in the number of people testing positive for the virus and in the number of those becoming so ill that they require hospital treatment. At this rate there will be days this week that we've got more than 10,000 infections. Those in their twenties are still the largest group but we're increasingly seeing a shift towards older people. As a consequence, we’re seeing a doubling in the number of hospital admissions every 10 days. Facing mounting figures across the country, and the news that Belgium is currently the second-worst country in Europe for the number of infections per 100,000 habitants, lockdowns and how to hopefully avoid them appear to be the talk of the week. Like almost one million of fellow countrymen I’ve downloaded the “Coronalert App”. The App stores anonymous information with whom you have been in physical contact with. As soon as a doctor writes a prescription for a coronavirus test the app generates a code that is linked to the test results. If your test is positive you receive notification in the app and the App sends a message to everyone that you have been in close contact with. Knowing that I’ll be warned if I’ve been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 I continue with my corona walks. On display today is “De Achtersikkel”. I was graced by a violin solo by students of Ghent’s music academy whilst I was taking the picture late last week. I found it hard to believe that we’re in the midst of an unprecedented crisis whilst I was enjoying this oasis of peace near the Saint Bavo’s Cathedral downtown Ghent – Biezekapelstraat, Ghent, Belgium.

2 March 2021: The figures continue to rise albeit at a slower pace. In the week to 26 February on average 2394 people tested positive each day. This figure is up 12% on the week. In the same period on average 137 people diagnosed with Covid-19 were hospitalized. The figure is up 15% on the week. Meanwhile, Belgium’s corona vaccination campaign continues to be a mess. According to figures published by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) Belgium is with 4,5% residents getting their first dose ranking 23rd on the European list. Malta is in first place with 10.1 percent of residents getting their first dose, followed by Denmark at 8.8 percent, and Finland at 7.7 percent. Bulgaria is at the bottom of the list, with less than 3 percent of the population getting their first vaccine. Also, Germany, France and the Netherlands are all doing better than Belgium with respectively 5,4%, 5,0% and 7,0% of the population having received their first jab. Clearly, there are hiccups in our vaccination campaign which are not acceptable and that absolutely must be resolved. To manage my frustration about so much bureaucracy and incompetence I continue to enjoy documenting how life unfolds before my eyes during these unprecedented times. I bucketed this picture in the category loneliness, worries, anxiety, and precautionary behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic – Citadelpark, Ghent, Belgium.

22 December 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – Yesterday should have been a day of breakthroughs. The EU approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, paving the way for millions of doses to be transferred to all 27 European Union member states and Belgium confirmed that it will start inoculating the first patients on 27 of December. Instead, the news on the new variant of the coronavirus in the UK sent the world reeling. Most European countries introduced a travel ban from and to the UK. The Belgian government extended the ban on people travelling to our country from the UK by a further 24 hours and France imposed a 48-hour suspension of freight transit across the English Channel, leaving thousands of truck drivers stranded in their vehicles. News channels reported how these disruptions stoked fears of panic buying in British supermarkets and stocks in Europe were sharply lower. Is this mutated variant of the virus not present anywhere else in Europe? Maybe England is the country where most of these mutations were detected because they look for them. In Belgium the variant was already found in 4 samples out 2,000 taken from people that had tested positive for coronavirus. Whilst this reflex reaction is understandable it poses the questions if these restriction are not out of proportions. I guess the future will tell… Whatever the answer is the fact that there is a mutated version of the virus that is 70 percent more contagious than other variants is not good news. To cheer you up here is another picture of a desolate Ghent during this holiday season – Sint-Baafsplein, Ghent, Belgium.

Stretching 120km from the Belgian border to the Baie de Somme the sublimely beautiful Opal Coast – named for the interplay of greys and blues in the sea and sky – features lofty chalk cliffs, rolling green hills, windswept beaches, scrub-dotted sand dunes and charming seaside towns that have been a favourite of British beach lovers since the Victorian era. The coast is dotted with the remains of Nazi Germany's Atlantic Wall, a line of fortifications, artillery emplacements and massive, reinforced concrete bunkers built to prevent the Allied invasion that in the end took place in Normandy – Côte d’Opale, France

2 November 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – Despite that the virus continues to spread rapidly among the population across the whole country and just a day before the lockdown measures are due to come into force, a Shopping Sunday took place in Antwerp. Given the large number of shoppers on Saturday virologist, healthcare workers and everybody with common sense had high hopes that the event would be rained off or that people would simply stay away from the shopping streets. Unfortunately, we’ve seen the opposite. The city center of Antwerp was again extremely busy, and there were big queues outside retail outlets. Also, Police continued to be called out to close down illegal parties and gatherings. Incomprehensible! Belgium is not the only country that has gone into or is about to enter its second lockdown of the coronavirus crisis. Countries such as France are already in lockdown while England will go into lockdown from next Thursday. Our situation is much worse than the situation in Germany, France or England, nevertheless, a part of the Belgian population is unwilling to stick to the basic measures that have been put into place to curb the further spread of the virus and some politicians are shying away to drive compliance. This trail of grossly irresponsible behavior will, without a shed of a doubt cost lives. Meanwhile, we gave up on our multi-course family lunch on Christmas. Instead we are bracing for a dark and grey winter. Let’s hope that afterwards there will be many beautiful springs and summers to come. Today’s dark and grey picture was taken a couple of years ago in Damme – Damme, Belgium.

9 October 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – The number of infections, hospitalisations and deaths linked to coronavirus all continue to rise. Belgium has now over 1,000 Covid patients in hospital. According to virologists a new lockdown could be imminent if the coronavirus figures don’t start to decrease within ten to twelve days. Also, in The Netherlands the situation continues to deteriorate. Yesterday, the country reported 5,381 new infections and currently has with 161 infections per 100,000 of the population more infections than countries like the US and Brazil. As a reference Spain has 158 people infected by 100,000 inhabitants. The northern provinces of the country including Friesland, Drenthe and Overijssel are now also completely red travel zones for travelers from Belgium. This means that Belgium will require travellers returning from these zones to be tested and quarantined. Clearly, travelling to The Netherlands is not going to be for tomorrow. On display is a picture I took in Beetsterzwaag years ago – Beetsterzwaag, Friesland, The Netherlands

4 March 2021: In the week to 28 February on average 2386 people tested positive each day. This figure is up 7% on the week. What is worse is that we continue to see a sharp rise in hospitalizations. On average in the week to 2 March 152 patients with Covid were hospitalised each day. The figure is up 21% on the week. Even though Belgium’s coronavirus figures have not improved compared to last week, politicians and experts are in favour of allowing people to meet in larger groups when outdoors. The rationale is that they want to give people a bit of extra hope, so they can keep following the other measures. I’m wondering what the government will decide next Friday when they meet again. Meanwhile, Ghent is treating students to one hundred chalk circles on the St Peter’s Square. The circles should allow students to enjoy the spring sunshine safely and stick to the corona measure that restricts gatherings to only four people outdoors. Each has a diameter of six metres and can accommodate four individuals. Circles too socially distance with four metres in between – Ghent, Belgium.

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Teen Trends Kianna Doll

by Mattel

1/ Kianna: A rocker who is into writing and playing music, going to rock concerts, and experimenting with fashion. She has a dog named Cleo and plays songs for him to see if the music she wrote was good. Her favorite color is red.

6 November 2020: Update from Belgium on The Corona Pandemic – The number of patients being treated for Covid-19 in critical care has risen to 1,412, but the number of people testing positive for coronavirus is falling. Other encouraging news is that scientists at Oxford in England are in the final stretch of the development of a vaccine. Belgium’s lead virologist, Stephen Van Gucht announced that the first vaccination campaign could start in the period between March and June.That is a long way to go but as a minimum there is a glimmer of hope at the horizon. Whilst most of us are sheltering at home the 2020 presidential election saga continues… The most mind-blowing event was the address President Trump made yesterday claiming that if you only count the legal votes, he easily won the elections. During his address to the nation he probably broke his own record for most dangerous lies in one speech. I’m looking at it in disbelief, but it doesn’t stop me from searching for beauty in the ugly in my hometown – Citadelpark, Ghent, Belgium.

The latest figures on the coronavirus pandemic in Belgium show a continuation in the downward trend. However, the pace of the fall in the number of people testing positive for the virus is slowing. Between 1 May and 7 May, an average of 2,936 new coronavirus infections were detected per day, the figures is down by 3% compared to the previous week. There are 700 patients being treated in intensive care for Covid-19 and a total of 2,175 people hospitalised with a coronavirus infection. The positivity rate stand at 6.6% and the reproduction number is 0.89. On 8 May 38.4% of the adult population had received at least one shot of the vaccine. Whilst the corona figures are still very high, and the Indian variant is probably more prevalent than we currently report, politicians keep focusing on easing the corona restrictions. As so many people have tried hard not to get infected or infect others by following the rules over the past year, it would be a shame to release the measures too early. It would be a pity to be infected when your vaccine is waiting… Meanwhile, in Ghent people are enjoying the reopening of the outdoor hospitality – Ghent, Belgium

25 March 2021: Virus levels in circulation have reached their highest levels in four months. Pressure on hospitals in high. In the week to 21 March 4195 people tested positive. The figure is up 37% on the week. On average in the week to 23 March 215 patients with Covid were hospitalised each day. The figure is up 28% on the week. Over 600 patients are now in intensive care. Yesterday the Belgian government announced an Easter ‘pause’, which will go into effect from Saturday evening 27 March, and see new restrictions imposed for at least four weeks: (1) across the country, non-essential shops will only be able to receive clients by appointment, with a maximum of 50 people allowed in the shop at once, depending on the store size, (2) non-medical contact professions such as hairdressers and beauty salons will have to close their doors again, (3) all classes in primary, secondary schools, and higher education will be suspended, until at least 19 April, and (4) outdoors no more than four people will be able to gather together instead of 10 at present. In addition, the government will implement extra checks to drive compliance with mandatory homeworking. Yesterday’s good news was that J&J pledged that Belgium’s first 76,000 doses of its vaccine will be delivered from mid-April, 38,000 doses will be delivered in the third and fourth weeks of April. Vaccination is the decisive element that will accelerate the end of the crisis and relieve the pressure in hospitals. Let’s hope that the government strengthens their efforts to further increase the efficiency of the vaccine rollout and speed up its implementation. Today’s post is a snippet of yesterday’s corona walk in Blankenberge, Belgium.

17 February 2021: Yesterday another big fall in the number of coronavirus infections and a slight fall in hospitalisations and deaths was reported. In the week to 13 February on average 1785 people tested positive each day in Belgium. The figure is down 19% on the week.

Less good news was that the first four cases of the Brazilian mutant have been diagnosed in Belgium. Experts are worried about this variant because they believe that it can infect people that already have coronavirus antibodies. Moreover, there is speculation that existing vaccines will be less effective against this variant. Nevertheless, for the first time in a long-time, experts sound cautiously optimistic. They are saying that if we can keep the figures under control and see them continuing to fall in the next couple of weeks, they are willing to propose to the government a gradual relaxation of the measures that are currently in place to curb the spread of the virus. Other good news was that J&J submitted its vaccine against Covid-19 to the EMA for approval yesterday. The agency has confirmed it could make a decision on the vaccine, which requires just one dosis, by the middle of March. Today’s picture is another picture form last weekend’s winter fun – Zevergem, Belgium

9 March 2021: The 7-day rolling average for the number of people testing positive for the virus each day is down with 3%. On average in the week to 5 March 2336 people tested positive each day. The average number of people hospitalized every day seems to stabilize around 145. Meanwhile, the vaccination campaign keeps muddling on. There are still issues with supplies of coronavirus vaccine and teething troubles with the system that sends out invitations to those due to be vaccinated. The latter is resulting in an increased gap between the number of vaccines our country received, and the number of people vaccinated. We only can envy the situation in the US where about 59 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine and about 31 million have been fully vaccinated. The country is administering about 2.1 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines per day! The CDC even issued guidance to Americans fully vaccinated against Covid-19, freeing them to take some liberties that the unvaccinated should not, including gathering indoors with others who are fully vaccinated without precautions. In the US fully vaccinated grandparents may now also visit unvaccinated healthy adult children and healthy grandchildren without masks or physical distancing. The little boy is wondering when we are going to see some light at the end of the tunnel – Citadelpark, Ghent, Belgium.

17 December 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – An increasing number of people are testing positive for Covid-19 in Belgium. Across the country cases are up 8% on the week. Nevertheless, virologists continue to believe that following the existing rules religiously could be enough to swing the trend. The question is, will the upcoming Xmas break proof that our soft lockdown can turn the tide? All will depend on our willingness to stay at home and limit our contacts as much as possible during the holidays? Net-net, next week will be crucial to avoid a third wave of increased infections. Whilst we’re anxiously monitoring the number of daily infection the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that it would decide on the approval of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine on 21 December. That is a week earlier than initially planned. That means that the European Commission will be able to issue its conditional marketing authorisation in the EU around Christmas. On display today is another extract of the Xmas decoration in the city center of Ghent – Emile Braunplein, Ghent, Belgium

15 March 2021: The latest figures on the coronavirus pandemic in Belgium show increases in both the number of people testing positive for the virus and in the number of people with COVID-19 that are needing hospital treatment.

In the week to 11 March on average 2717 people tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The figure is up 15% on the week. During the week from 7 to 13 March an average of 153 people with COVID-19 were hospitalised each day. This is 6% up on the 7-day rolling average for the previous week. This is the first rise in several days. Despite the deteriorating figures there is some silver lining. The Flemish government announced that every person living in Flanders aged over 18 years old should receive a dose of a coronavirus vaccine by 11 July this year, providing the delivery of vaccines goes according the current schedule. That is a big if and there are still some difficult slopes to go before we’re at the end of the tunnel. Today’s picture is taken from the Aiguille du Midi, a 3,842-metre-tall mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps – Chamonix, France.

11 October 2020: Update on The Corona Pandemic – An average of more than 3,000 people per day tested positive for Covid-19 in Belgium over the past week, with a peak on Tuesday of 5,048 positive tests in one day. Also, in France the Covid-19 figures are increasing rapidly, with a new daily record of 20,000 confirmed cases in the last 24 hours. The Netherlands set yesterday a new single-day record with 6,504 more people testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. I don’t have the figures for Germany at hand but it’s clear, we’re all in the same boat. The only difference is that all of neighbouring countries are ordering millions of rapid Sars-Cov-2 antigen tests and Belgium has so far not ordered any. The rapid antigen tests are much simpler and faster than the currently-recommended PCR tests. Based on my more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry, I’m advocating for a testing strategy with a first-line rapid screening test with a high diagnostic sensitivity followed by a consecutive confirmatory test with a high specificity (PCR) on all positive samples. In the past this strategy has proven that it reduces the overall diagnostic cost, personnel time and analytical run times. In Belgium we are still validating these tests and deciding how to best use them. Why do we need to redo the work? If anybody is reading this or if anybody disagree or has the answer, please let me know. Meanwhile, to overcome my frustration with so much unnecessary bureaucracy and national regulation, I continue to document the beauty of my hometown. Today’s picture is from the gothic Saint Nicholas church – Ghent, Belgium

27 March 2021: The number of new infections is continuing to rise. On average in the week to 23 March, 4,529 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed each day. There are currently 2,492 patients with COVID-19 that are being cared for in Belgian hospitals. The sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 patients on intensive care wards is a particular cause for concern. There are currently 651 COVID-19 patients on the intensive care wards. We are now reaching levels that we have not seen since the second wave. Nevertheless, it isn't all doom and gloom says Steven Van Gucht, one of Belgium’s lead virologists. The pace at which the coronavirus figures have been increasing has slowed in recent days. He believes that if we stick to the recently announced measures, we can possibly have reached a peak in the number of infections within a week and once we have beaten this wave the worst of the pandemic will be over. Looking at all the activity that still has been going on over the last couple of days, I think this is very ambitious, but it’s weekend and we can allow ourselves some optimism – St Peter’s Square, Ghent, Belgium.

13 April 2021: Between 3 and 9 April 3,485 new cases were reported each day on average, 19 percent less than the week before that. The number of people in hospital and on intensive care remains high. There are currently 3,048 patients with COVID-19 that are being cared for in hospitals. Of these 899 patients are on intensive care wards. Despite the four-week “Easter pause” implemented by the Government at the end of March, the coronavirus figures in Belgium have not dropped low enough for a full reopening of schools, according to the education sector. Therefore, as of next week pupils aged 15-18 will still only be able to physically attend school half-time, with half-time distance learning still in place. Kindergartens, primary schools, and the first grade of secondary education will be able to go to school full-time. Net-net, we’re back to the same situation as before the Easter holidays. On display today are the empty chalk circles on the St Peter’s Square. The circles were painted on the square to allow students to enjoy the spring sunshine safely and stick to the corona measure that restricts gatherings to only four people in the outdoors – Ghent, Belgium