Lowest number of new Covid-19 hospitalizations since March 15
New figures released on Monday showed that 73 people with coronavirus were admitted to hospitals on Sunday, the lowest total since March 16 when 78 people were admitted. At least 21 people were known to have died on Sunday, and 51 the previous day, preliminary numbers that suggest the lowest number of coronavirus-related deaths since the two-day period including March 19 and 20, according to public health agency RIVM.
The RIVM frequently adds new data from previous dates as it becomes available, which will likely cause those figures to rise. Still, it is a far cry from the 165 people who passed away on both March 31 and also April 2, the peak of coronavirus-related deaths, and the 560 people hospitalized on March 24.
To date, 3,751 people who tested positive for coronavirus in the Netherlands have died, an overall increase of 67 compared to figures released on Sunday. Those 67 deaths did not all take place on Sunday, with at least one taking place over three weeks ago.
The public health agency also said that 9,779 people with a coronavirus infection have required hospitalization, an increase of 75 including patient data which stretches back nearly four weeks.
As of early Monday morning, 33,405 people tested positive for the virus, an increase of 750. At least 171,415 people have been tested for the virus since the end of February.
The government's Outbreak Management Team is meeting on Monday to discuss possibly relaxing some of the measures in place against the spread of Covid-19. But according to the RIVM, it is not yet time to get excited. The end of this crisis is not yet in sight, Jacco Wallinga of the RIVM said to NOS on Sunday. "We are just past the first bump. We got there. That's great. Now we have to try and get into calmer waters a bit."
The 25 mayors in the Security Council - the council of all the safety regions in the Netherlands - are also meeting on Monday evening. According to NOS, they will likely be discussing what should be done regarding coronavirus measures during the May holidays, which are starting on Friday in most regions.