Mick Hartley

This seems sensible, in the face of endless panicky news items about the increase in coronavirus cases, the dreaded second wave, and the "rule of six":

The resurgence of coronavirus is nothing to be feared and lockdown measures are doing more harm than the pandemic itself, a leading Belgian medical scientist has said.

Jean-Luc Gala, head of the prestigious Université Catholique de Louvain Saint-Luc clinic and a specialist in infectious diseases, has broken ranks with other scientists and tried to quell fears over the rise of the Belgian infection rate.

He said that it was not dangerous for the virus to circulate and the lack of a vaccine could help to bring about herd immunity in the population.

“Is the rise in infections worrying? No. It is completely normal. Is it dangerous for the virus to circulate? No, once again,” he told La Dernière Heure newspaper.

“It is now circulating in a category that does not suffer from it, young people who will at worst have small symptoms, at best nothing at all.

“If people are infected but do not develop symptoms, so much the better. We do not have a vaccine and that contributes to herd immunity.”

Professor Gala’s comments come as the infection rate in Belgium continues to grow, up 50 per cent over the past week to an average of nearly 750 cases a day.

Despite the resurgence in the virus, hospital admissions remain low, less than a third of the level reached when lockdown measures were introduced.

Deaths from the virus have continued to decline throughout the summer.

“We have positive tests, but no patients,” Professor Gala said. Severe cases are not appearing in clinics such as the one he runs in Brussels, he added.

“They are no longer seen in the hospital. There are hardly any patients 65 years and over. Look at the hospitalisations and intensive care. The situation is perfectly under control,” he said.

Positive tests, but no patients. Rather like here.