Last week, RIVM already recorded a doubling to 8,541 cases. It turned out to be a harbinger of an even faster growth in the number of infections in the last seven days. In most cases these are now caused by the extra contagious Delta variant of the virus.
The current wave of contamination started after the relaxation that the cabinet implemented on June 26. Young people in particular sought out the nightlife en masse for the first time in months. Some did so with government approval immediately after a jab of Janssen’s corona vaccine. In practice, they were not well protected at all, because vaccines need at least two weeks to work optimally. Outgoing minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Health) has meanwhile abolished this “dancing with Janssen”.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets after a rapid test, which provided access to nightclubs or festivals where keeping distance was no longer necessary. These tests are known to be less reliable than the PCR tests used by the GGD standard. The government also took a risk by giving a negative test result a validity of 40 hours, instead of the 24 hours recommended by the Outbreak Management Team (OMT). And there was cheating with tickets. The sum of factors turned out badly, resulting in the current infection figures. Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologized on Monday for the cabinet’s “error of judgment”.
The weekly report of the RIVM confirms the picture of young people who become infected in the catering industry and at parties. Among the people of whom it is known where they contracted the virus, this was in the catering industry in 37 percent of the cases. The home situation follows with 28 percent. Home visits account for 16 percent of the reduced cases, parties for 15 percent and the work situation for 7 percent. Hundreds of people were also infected in holiday countries, especially in Spain and Portugal.
Young people and the elderly
Young people in their early 20s are now by far the most affected. Four in ten people who contracted the virus last week are between the ages of 20 and 25. There were as many as 1,892 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in that age group. In other words: one in 53 young people in their twenties contracted corona last week. A quarter of people who tested positive are between the ages of 15 and 20.
The infection rates are still relatively low among the elderly, who are more frail but also more often fully vaccinated. However, they are also increasing rapidly there. For example, last week 617 people in their sixties received a positive test result. A week earlier, there were only 180. RIVM recorded 218 cases among people over 70, more than a doubling. People who have been fully vaccinated and still get corona have a much lower risk of ending up in hospital.
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