ULB
" We developed a sensor network system that estimates and forecasts crowd counts in outdoor and indoor areas. The counts and forecasts are available in real-time through a web service. The system allows authorities and owners to manage and control social distancing measures. The system is ready for installation and use. "
Publication References: J-F Determe, U. Singh, F.Horlin, Ph De Doncker, « Forecasting Crowd Counts With Wi-Fi Systems: Univariate, Non-Seasonal Models », IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 2020
Contact: Prof. François Horlin (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) Prof. Philippe De Doncker (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

UCLouvain
" www.covidata.be We gather data about the Coronavirus in Belgium, and attempt to extract meaningful information from it. We use open and/or public data to enable these analyses. "
Funding: No funding
Publication References: Work in progress
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

HUDERF and ULB
" Role of Children in Sars-Cov-2 transmission, Heath Care Worker protection, Paediatric epidemiology and disease burden "
Funding: FNRS funding under assessment.
Contact: Prof Pierre Smeesters Academic Children Hospital Queen Fabiola Molecular Bacteriology Laboratory, ULB This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UCLouvain and ULB
" Research project on the impact of covid-19 on the private and professional life of nurses in Belgium. Data were collected on more than 4,500 nurses (in hospital, nursing home, home care, etc.) on their working conditions during the covid-19 epidemic as well as on burnout with Maslach Burnout Inventory and on the job strain (psychological demands and decision latitude) with the Karasek model. "
Funding: None
Publication References: https://www.lalibre.be/dernieres-depeches/belga/coronavirus-plus-de-six-infirmiers-sur-dix-risquent-l-epuisement-professionnel-selon-une-enquete-5eaca25c7b50a67d2ef882a5
Contact: Pierre Smith, nurse and PhD Student in public health, Institute of Health and Society, UCLouvain: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Arnaud Bruyneel, nurse and PhD Student in public health at ULB, SIZ Nursing: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ULB
" The project aims at assessing the impact of holding municipal elections in France on the spread of the covid-19 epidemic by studying the relationship between turnout and the spread of the disease in areas at different stages of the epidemic. "
Funding: We have applied for a grant from FNRS.
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Comment: The project is at the data collection stage. No results are available yet.

UMONS - Faculty of Engineering - ILIA and ISIA Departments
" This study allows an early Covid-19 diagnosis by using AI and explainable based classification and detection methods applied to CT and X-ray datasets. Many datasets form several hospitals in Belgium are used. The goal of the project is to use AI based methods to identify Covid-19 patients. Explainable AI methods are used to provide efficient interpretation and visualization tools for the classification and detection results obtained. The second goal of this project is to create a benchmark dataset composed of chest CT and X-ray database related to Covid-19 disease. To this aim, a semi-automatic annotation tool is developed in order to allow fast image annotation by radiologists. - Explainable artificial intelligence applied to Covid-19 detection based on CT and X-ray images. - Annotation tool development to build a benchmark database. "
Funding: University of Mons - Faculty of Engineering
Publication References: ...

Read more: Saïd Mahmoudi, Professor - Thierry Dutoit, Full Professor - Sidi Ahmed Mahmoudi, Professor- Xavier...

UCLouvain - Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium
" TThe project US3R is a general population survey that will measure the magnitude of utilised, postponed and foregone medical care in relation with other health care needs than coronavirus symptoms during the confinement period in Belgium. The study aims to describe the magnitude of unsatisfied health care needs for various types of care. It will also identify the reasons for these postponed and foregone care according to gender, health status, geographical location and socioeconomic status. "
Funding: Budget Jeune Académique UCLouvain (Sandy Tubeuf)
Contact: Sandy Tubeuf, PhD Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Comment: Voir: https://uclouvain.be/fr/decouvrir/presse/actualites/coronavirus-avez-vous-renonce-a-des-soins-medicaux.html Lien vers l'enquête : https://uclouvainph.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8D3WX8lH34Lf6LP

ULiège
" The Centre Spatial de Liege is developing a process for mask recycling by cleaning, decontamination and dehydradation. The process combines ethanol/water mix cleaning with an innovative outgassing step under vacuum. The decontamination is already proven thanks to the collaboration with the Veterinary Faculty . The outgassing step aims to retrieve mask performance (mainly filtration efficiency) close to original. "
Funding: No, internal ULiege project
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UCLouvain, IRSS 
" How the Covid-19 Pandemic changes the dynamics of meetings and organizations in the Health and Education Sectors? The containment measures deployed following the Covid-19 pandemic produced a partial, if not complete, shift to telework. In many sectors, virtual meetings are now at the heart of work organization and coordination. How do people feel about their virtual meetings? And what do virtual meetings say about our organizations ? To find an answer to these questions, we have distributed a survey within six Belgian universities (University Ghent, University Hasselt, VUB, UCLouvain, ULiège and ULB) and health care services and administrations. "
Funding: none
Publication References: https://www.lecho.be/opinions/carte-blanche/que-penser-des-reunions-virtuelles-qui-se-generalisent/10223471 https://uclouvain.be/fr/decouvrir/coronavirus-que-nous-apprend-la-pratique-des-reunions-virtuelles.html
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Comment: "Virtual Meetings in the...

Read more: Sophie Thunus, Professor

GIGA-Institute, ULiège - FNRS - Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
" The main objective of our research program is the identification of human genetic factors impacting the COVID19 pandemic. Within the COVID-19 host genetics initiative (https://www.covid19hg.org/), we will establish a shared set of phenotypes to be combined with genomic data for standard GWAS and further meta-analysis. Field of expertise of our laboratory : genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, immune-response related diseases. In addition, the GIGA Institute is an interdisciplinary research institute from the ULiege devoted to academic excellence in the biomedical sciences to foster ground-breaking medical innovation. It comprises 583 members attached to six faculties (Medicine, Science, Veterinary Medicine, Engineering, Agbiotech, Psychology) that are organized in four disease-based (neuroscience, cancer, infection-inflammation-immunity, cardiovascular) and two method-based thematic units...

Read more: Souad Rahmouni, Doctor

UMONS and Ambroise-Paré Hospital Mons
" Predictive plasma signature of the clinical behavior of COVID-19 patients. The clinical presentation of COVID-19 infection varies from mild to asymptomatic to pneumonia, which can be complicated by severe respiratory failure and/or cardiovascular, renal, hepatic and cutaneous involvement. The understanding of such a polymorphism is very incomplete and the prognosis is difficult. Several tracks involving inflammatory reactions are currently favored to better explain this disease. In particular, the significant increase in plasma cytokines IL2, IL7, IL10, GSCF, IP10, MCP1, MIP1A and TNFα, known as "cytokine storm", seems to be significantly associated with the ARDS and multi-organ onsets. In this context, IL6 seems to play an important role and targeted treatments against this cytokine seem promising. Also, the infection of endothelial cells by the coronavirus causing endothelium inflammation have been suggested as one of the fundamental...

Read more: Stéphane CARLIER, Prof - Jean-Marie COLET, Prof - Fabrice JOURNE, Dr - Sven SAUSSEZ, Prof- Vincent...

UCLouvain 
" The impact of COVID-19 on the relation between great powers "
Contact: Prof. Tanguy Struye de Swielande UCL-CECRI This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UCLouvain - FNRS
" Background Primary care is considered to be an essential component of the health system towards the Quadruple aim (improved health outcomes for people, care processes, efficiency and provider work life). In French-speaking Belgium Primary care is poorly structured. The current Covid-19 epidemic acts as a revealer for the strenghts and weaknesses of primary care. The main research question is: what can we learn about the structuration of primary care, its strenghts and weaknesses, in the context of the current epidemic? We use a qualitative research design. The investigated population si primary care providers (GPs, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists) who are representing their profession, while having a clinical activity. We hold weekly semi-structured interviews with 10 different profiles of providers while the crisis lasts. We use the systematic reporting of critical events, as perceived by the interviewees, as an entry point...

Read more: Thérèse Van Durme, FNRS Research Associate

UCLouvain
" Abstract Aims. Billions of individuals have been confined to their homes as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This kind of exposure of the population to social distancing is unusual in its scale and in its potential effects on social and mental health. The main aim of this paper, accordingly, is to investigate the effects of confinement on the social and mental health of individuals during the first days of confinement. First, we compared the prevalence of psychological distress before and at the beginning of the confinement period. Then, we assessed three groups of risk factors for psychological distress: changes in social activities and support, exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic, and changes in occupational status. Methods. An online survey was distributed to the general population in Belgium three days after the beginning of the confinement period. 20,792 respondents participated in the survey. The prevalence of psychological distress was measured using the GHQ-12...

Read more: Vincent Lorant, Professor

UCLouvain
" The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental representation of social groups : The role of threat on the stereotypes of Chinese in the US and in France "
Funding: UCLouvain and FNRS
Contact: Vincent Yzerbyt, UCLouvain (PSP/IPSY), This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Comment: This project comprises two subprojects, one devoted to the change in stereotypes of Chinese in France and one on the facial representation of Chinese in the United States