Belgium, one of the worst affected European countries by the new coronavirus, recorded an average of 15,316 new infections per day in mid-October, Reuters quoted health officials as saying on Friday, hours before the government was due to consider a lockdown.

Home to the headquarters of the European Union and NATO, Belgium has one of the world's highest fatality figures per capita from the virus and now, in the second wave, has one of the highest per capita rates of Covid-19 infections.

“We see no favourable change for the moment,” health ministry spokesman Yves Van Laethem told a news conference.

The 38 per cent increase in confirmed cases for the Oct. 20-26 period compared to the previous week takes the total number of infections since the beginning of the outbreak to 392,258 in the country of 11 million people, according to data from the Sciensano health institute.