Number of infections with delta variant corona is rising rapidly among young people in Groningen

The number of corona infections in Groningen has been rising rapidly in recent days. More than one third of the samples examined turned out to be the delta variant.

All signs indicate that there are many new infections, especially among the young adults who have been going out en masse since last week in the city of Groningen. On Friday, RIVM counted 26 infections in Groningen, Saturday 56 and Sunday 67. In the days and weeks before that, the number of corona infections in Groningen and Drenthe fell sharply. At the beginning of last week, the GGD also spoke about a decreasing number of infections.

Figures GISAID: 38 percent delta in Groningen

While the GGD did not see any delta variants in Groningen at the end of last week, new figures from the international science collective GISAID show that 38 percent of the samples examined in Groningen are now with the Indian delta variant. In Drenthe, 13 percent of the samples examined are the delta variant.

Yorick Bleijenberg, a data analyst who has been analyzing corona figures on Twitter throughout the corona crisis, is concerned about the rapid increase in Groningen. Virologist Bert Niesters of the UMCG thinks that this is partly because fewer antigen tests are performed and more PCR tests are performed.

Niesters also warns that the message that young people can go out a day after one Janssen shot is unjustified. The body does not have sufficient antibodies until fourteen days after the vaccination.

Long lines for Testing for Access

Last weekend and the days before the weekend it was clearly noticeable in the nightlife in Groningen that the one and a half meters and other corona rules were being violated en masse. Although much of the public has been tested, there were long queues at the Testing for Access locations. And a significant proportion of young people have already had one vaccination. But there were also reports on social media of nightlife spots where the QR code needed as proof of vaccination or testing was not strictly controlled.

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