Coronavirus in the Netherlands: Where do the 188 patients live?

A new dataset released by health authority RIVM showed that a plurality of those who tested positive for coronavirus live in Noord-Brabant. Overall, some 57 of the country's 188 patients, a little over 30 percent, reside in the southern province.

Ten of those cases are based in Tilburg, and seven are in Loon op Zand, the hometown of the country's first coronavirus case. He was believed to have visited the Carnaval celebration in Tilburg, along with his wife, daughter, and brother, all of whom also tested positive.

Of the 60 new cases disclosed by the RIVM on Saturday, 24 patients reside in Noord-Brabant. Every person living there was advised to remain in their homes if they have even a slight fever or a small cough, regardless of if they have had contact with a coronavirus patient. They were told to wait and see if the symptoms worsened, and then to call their doctor's office as their circumstances developed.

The new data showed that 16 of the country's 356 municipalities were now dealing with a coronavirus case for the first time. Among them is Schouwen-Duiveland, in Zeeland, a province which had not been affected prior to today.

There were still no positive test results from Friesland or Groningen on Saturday, though there were new concerns for the latter with the return of hundreds of members of the Vindicat student association. Some 760 students from the University of Groningen returned from a ski vacation to northern Italy on Saturday, a holiday they were advised not to embark on because of the outbreak in that country.

In total, 73 municipalities are home to an infected patient. Houten was still the hardest hit in the Netherlands, with 13 residents stricken with the virus, up from nine a day earlier. The number of cases in Rotterdam and Utrecht also rose to 11.

The province of Utrecht follows Noord-Brabant with 47 positive test results, and Zuid-Holland is home to 29 patients. The other provinces in order are Noord-Holland (17), Gelderland (13), Limburg (11), Overijssel (4), Drenthe (3), Flevoland (2), Zeeland (1), Friesland (0), and Groningen (0).

The RIVM data reflects information from 184 patients including the 86-year-old man from Hoeksche Waard, Zuid-Holland, who died with the virus. He had visited a hospital for a urinary tract infection, and was checked for coronavirus after he unexpectedly developed respiratory ailments.

The RIVM did not have or did not yet disclose the hometowns of four patients, likely including one person in quarantine at a small barracks behind the Hoofddorp fire station. That patient reportedly developed symptoms on arrival at Schiphol Airport and was immediately isolated at the firehouse.

That person was not known to have a residence in the Netherlands.

The national government launched a helpline that Netherlands residents can call with questions about the coronavirus. The number is 0800-1351.