Corona epidemic is spreading to the east of the country

The situation surrounding the corona epidemic hardly seems to have changed in recent weeks: the number of new infections has remained practically the same (it has been at over 3,500 for weeks, the number of ‘clusters’ (at least three infections that can be linked together) is exactly the same this week. to last week’s – 434 – and the number of hospital admissions has been fluctuating for some time, falling this week from 111 last week to 65.

But those who look below the surface will see the shifts. The virus has raged mainly in the Randstad and West Brabant in recent weeks, but it is busy with a shift to the east. If you look at the map of the number of corona infections, you can still see the four major cities stand out, especially Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The situation there remains more or less the same; the number of cases is no longer increasing, but is barely decreasing after last week’s decline. More striking is that parts of Utrecht, East Brabant and Gelderland are now also lighting up. In those regions, the number of infections has risen cautiously in weeks, but has gone a lot faster in the past.

Increase in the regions of Eindhoven, Utrecht and Gelderland

Take Eindhoven, where barely a handful of infections were found per day two weeks ago. Last week, the number of positive tests grew strongly compared to the week before, from 37 to 62. There has also been an increase in new cases in other places in the region. The GGD region around Eindhoven also scores with another indicator, namely the percentage of tests with a positive result. Brabant South-East, as the region is called, is now one of the regions with the highest percentage of positive tests – between 2.5 and 4.5, along with Amsterdam, Rotterdam-Rijnmond and Haaglanden.

It is unclear where the increase is coming from. There has been no talk of a “massive outbreak,” said a spokesman. “We are seeing a gradual increase throughout the region, it is not concentrated in one place. We see clusters like those found all over the country, think of family parties and people returning from vacation. ”

A similar picture can be seen in Utrecht and Gelderland: the number of infections is gradually increasing throughout the province. It’s not about large numbers, but the growth is there. Such as in Montfoort, where thirteen new infections were reported last week. The week before there were two. In Ermelo, hardly any infections had been found for weeks, from last week there are a few every day. All those small increases compensate for the decrease in larger sources of fire, such as in Bergen op Zoom – last week eight reports were received by the RIVM, last week there were 24.

With the cooperation of Erik van Gameren

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