Belgium confirms five new cases of COVID-19

Five new cases of COVID-19 were detected during the night of Monday in Belgium, bringing the total number of cases to 13, according to a press release issued on Tuesday by the Federal Public Health Service.

KU Leuven, a research university in the Dutch-speaking town of Leuven in Flanders, Belgium, tested 243 people during the night of Monday, with five positive for the novel coronavirus.

All these patients, two in Flanders, northern Belgium, two in Wallonia, southern Belgium, and one in the capital Brussels, are receiving medical care.

The Federal Public Health Service attributed the increase in the number of infections in Belgium to the return of some Belgians from carnival holidays in northern Italy.

Medical teams and hygiene inspectors in each region are widening the field of investigation, following up on people who have been in contact with the patients since their return from holidays.

Belgium reported its first case of COVID-19 early February, when one of the nine returnees from Wuhan, China tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The Belgian was discharged from the Saint-Pierre hospital in Brussels on Feb. 15 after tests turned negative.