The nursing home was located in the Belgian town of Zaventem, near the country's capital Brussels. Courtesy Photononstop
The nursing home was located in the Belgian town of Zaventem, near the country's capital Brussels. Courtesy Photononstop
The nursing home was located in the Belgian town of Zaventem, near the country's capital Brussels. Courtesy Photononstop
The nursing home was located in the Belgian town of Zaventem, near the country's capital Brussels. Courtesy Photononstop

Seven fully vaccinated Belgian nursing home residents die from Kappa Covid strain


  • English
  • Arabic

Follow the latest coronavirus updates

Seven fully vaccinated residents of a nursing home in Belgium have died after being infected by a Covid-19 mutation first detected in Colombia, the virology team that conducted tests on the virus said on Friday.

They had all been infected with the B.1.621 mutation, which the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control had listed as part of the Kappa variant.

B.1.621 cases have been detected in the US in recent weeks but the variant's presence in Europe is rare, with the Delta and Alpha variants dominating. In Belgium, it currently accounts for less than 1 per cent of known cases.

The seven people who died at the nursing home in the Belgian town of Zaventem, near Brussels, were all in their 80s or 90s, and some of them were already in poor physical condition, said Marc Van Ranst, a virologist at the University of Leuven, which carried out the tests on the virus found at the nursing home.

Despite their frailty, Mr Van Ranst said their deaths were “worrisome” as they were all fully vaccinated.

He is unsure if the B.1.621 mutation is more transmissible than other coronavirus mutations or variants.

Twenty-one Zaventum nursing home residents were infected in the outbreak, along with several members of staff who only experienced mild symptoms, Mr Van Ranst told Reuters.

Additional tests will be run to rule out any possibility that the nursing home residents died from a different variant or mutation of the virus, or a different respiratory disease. Mr Van Ranst said these outcomes were “unlikely but not impossible".

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

The%20Iron%20Claw
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sean%20Durkin%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Zac%20Efron%2C%20Jeremy%20Allen%20White%2C%20Harris%20Dickinson%2C%20Maura%20Tierney%2C%20Holt%20McCallany%2C%20Lily%20James%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20Crown%20season%205
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EImelda%20Staunton%2C%20Jonathan%20Pryce%2C%20Lesley%20Manville%2C%20Jonny%20Lee%20Miller%2C%20Dominic%20West%2C%20Elizabeth%20Debicki%2C%20Salim%20Daw%20and%20Khalid%20Abdalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWritten%20by%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPeter%20Morgan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%20stars%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Long read

Mageed Yahia, director of WFP in UAE: Coronavirus knows no borders, and neither should the response

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Updated: August 06, 2021, 11:56 PM`