RIVM: 19 percent more infections last week | Inland

RIVM has established that the Netherlands is in ‘a vulnerable position’. “If the easing is too rapid, the number of infections, and with it the number of hospital admissions, will increase again,” the institute warns.

In the past week, 263,291 people were tested for the virus, no less than 38 percent more than a week previously. 9.8 percent of those people received a positive test result. A week earlier, 11.5 percent of all tests were positive. Relatively speaking, the increase was greatest among children aged 0 to 12 years. “This may be related to the reopening of primary schools and day-care centers two weeks earlier, in combination with the stricter testing policy: these children must also be tested for minor complaints,” explains RIVM. In absolute numbers, the youngest age group still has the lowest number of corona infections.

Shortly before Christmas, RIVM recorded more than 82,000 infections in a week. After the strict lockdown, which the cabinet announced in mid-December, the number of new infections decreased steadily every week. Last week there were more than 25,000. A fraction more than the week before. The 2 percent increase could be attributed to thousands of people having to catch up with a test appointment that had previously been canceled due to harsh winter weather.

Reproduction number

The so-called reproduction number, which indicates how quickly the virus spreads, is just below 1, just like last week. RIVM has calculated that figure for the situation on 5 February. For the extra contagious British variant, which according to the institute is now the most common in the Netherlands, the number hardly shifted: from 1.15 to 1.14. This means that 100 people who contracted the virus light an average of 114 others.

The RIVM emphasizes that “many infections have been prevented” by the combination of the curfew and the urgent advice to receive a maximum of one visitor per day at home. In total, according to calculations by the institute, this saves about 10 percent in infections.

Last day

3,846 positive corona tests were registered between Monday morning and Tuesday morning. That is less than the average for the past seven days, which is 4,282.

The RIVM previously warned against increasing infection rates because more and more people contract the advancing British variant of the corona virus.

The number of reported deaths from Covid-19 rose by 94 last 24 hours. That is not to say that all those people died in a 24-hour period. Deaths are sometimes passed on after a while. 32 deaths were registered on Monday.

Hospitals

The number of corona patients in Dutch hospitals has increased slightly over the past 24 hours. According to the National Coordination Center for Patient Distribution (LCPS), 1917 people with Covid-19 have been admitted, 9 more than Monday.

Of these patients, 538 are so ill that they are in intensive care. That is 23 fewer than the day before. The number of corona patients in the ICs has fluctuated between 500 and 550 for a number of weeks. Nursing wards now have 1,379 corona patients, 32 more than Monday.

The coordination center moved 15 patients to another region last 24 hours, including 5 IC patients.

According to the LCPS, Covid hospital occupancy and the number of new admissions are relatively stable compared to a week ago. “Last week, the average number of daily admissions rose slightly. It is too early to interpret this development as a break from previous weeks or as the result of the further emergence of the British Covid variant, ”the center said in an explanation.

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