Coronavirus: Just 23 known deaths yesterday; Death toll tops 4,700
Reported deaths and new hospitalizations in patients who tested positive for coronavirus continued a steady decline, according to public health agency RIVM. At least 23 people died on Tuesday, and 31 more were hospitalized.
In total, the agency added 145 more to the total number of people who have died, bringing that figure up to 4,711. That figure includes deaths which took place over the last week, with a few ranging back to March 25. The agency added 96 more cases with a known fatal outcome to the daily statistics from Friday through King's Day, which took place on Monday. It means that at least 238 people who had coronavirus died in that four-day period.
The 458 reported deaths in the seven days up to and including Tuesday equated to a decline of 41 percent, compared to the previous seven day period. The national holiday did have an impact on the amount of time needed to notify the agency of deaths and hospital status, the RIVM said.
Of the 76 new hospitalizations the agency reported, just 31 of them took place on Tuesday. The rest included admissions which were scattered throughout the last two weeks of March and most of April. From Friday through Monday there were 22 more hospitalizations than previously reported, raising that four-day total to 142.
For the seven-day period ending on Tuesday, there was a strong decline in reported hospitalizations. The decrease was approximately 52 percent, with 340 people hospitalized compared to 713.
So far, 38,802 people in the Netherlands have tested positive for the virus, out of 213,372 who have been tested. The preliminary data regarding deaths, hospitalizations and testing will most certainly continue to increase in the coming days as the agency receives more data.
From Wednesday, Netherlands residents can give their opinion about what the country's so-called exit strategy should look like through an online questionnaire by TU Delft. Participants are given eight scenarios to choose from, along with the known and possible consequences for each scenario. The university is also doing a survey among 5 thousand Dutch people selected to be a representative sample of the population. The results of both studies will be submitted to the cabinet, which will take it into account when considering the possible relaxation of the corona measures, according to NOS.