Belgium's number of new confirmed coronavirus cases has increased by 89% within a week, the country's health agency SPF reported on Friday, six weeks after bars and restaurants were reopened.
On average, there were 221 new coronavirus infections every day from July 13 to 20, the agency said. The daily average was 117 for July 7 to 13.
The average daily virus-related death toll also rose by 67% over the same period, climbing to three.
The small country with its population of just 11.5 million people has been among the European countries hit hardest by the virus, with just shy of 65,000 cases and almost 10,000 deaths confirmed so far.
Three-year-old-girl
A three-year-old girl with multiple health conditions who died had tested positive for coronavirus, SPF said on Friday, in what appears to be Belgium's youngest victim so far.
The Belgian government eased many of its lockdown measures starting from late May, reopening restaurants and bars in early June.
After a long period of decline following a mid-April peak, SPF first began reporting a slight increase in daily new cases on July 11.
In light of the development, Belgium decided not to move onto its next phase in the relaxation of restrictions on Thursday, and announced tighter rules on wearing face masks in public places.
