Last week, the RIVM counted the record number of 67,000 infections. That is considerably more than the weeks before, although the increase in speed is slowing and the provisional peak of the second wave is approaching. ‘Probably the effect of the measures’.
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This is evident from the new figures from the RIVM. From 21 to 27 October, in addition to the more than 67,000 infections, 1739 new hospital admissions were also reported (+247 compared to the previous week), and 333 IC admissions (46 more). The RIVM also reports 329 deaths, that was 185 last week. The percentage of positive tests also continues to rise, from 15 to almost 18 percent last week.
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And yet the spread of the virus seems to be slowing further. RIVM has been counting more than 10,000 new infections for days – a substantial but stable number. Last week, a slightly slower increase was noted, with more than 55,000 new infections at the time (versus 44,000 and 27,000 the weeks before). “The number of reports is increasing less rapidly, that is probably the effect of the measures at the end of September and mid-October”, the national institute writes in an explanation. At the end of September, the cabinet tightened the reins in the catering industry, followed by the ‘partial lockdown’ in mid-October. This week, the first effects should be reflected in the number of new infections, hope those involved. After that, hospital numbers and mortality statistics should level off and fall.
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But the number of deaths is still increasing sharply, and the large numbers of new patients are saddling hospitals with acute problems. The healthcare sector is longing for a slower influx of sick people. There are currently 2,358 corona patients in hospital, the LCPS reports, 109 more than the day before. Of these, 529 are in the ICU, 25 more than the day before.
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With more than ten thousand new cases every day this week, the Netherlands is approaching the top of the second wave, it seems. The reproduction factor – that stands for the number of others that an infected person lights up on average – drops slightly, towards one. That is hopeful: with a reproduction rate below one, the epidemic will die out.
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This week is crucial for the government’s corona policy: if the numbers of infections – and a little later also the hospital admissions – do not level off and fall, a stricter lockdown threatens.
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