Belgium has world's highest per capita deaths due to coronavirus

Belgium currently has one of the world's highest per capita deaths due to coronavirus in the world. As of now, the country has breached 20,000 deaths, as per data provided by the government on Sunday.

The country is home to the headquarters of the European Union, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Belgium has nine health ministers and remains largely divided by language.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Public health officials have pointed to some missteps and issues in how the country fought COVID-19.

Sciensano, a public health institute claims that 20,038 people have died in Belgium. On average, 58 people have died in Belgium every day in the last seven days.

This marked a decrease of 15 per cent from the previous seven-day period.

Belgium has the world's second-highest deaths in proportion to its overall population. It is only behind the small city-state of San Marino, as per Johns Hopkins University's data, based on numbers from Saturday.

To control a surge in the number of infections, Belgium's government imposed tight restrictions in October. It included a night curfew, mandatory working from home modules, and the mandatory closure of bars and restaurants.

Even then, cases have started to pick up. On Friday, the government said it would tighten restrictions for the time being, but added that these will be reviewed on January 22.