Daily coronavirus tests increasing; Total deaths up to 6,044

The Netherlands tested 9,297 people for a SARS-CoV-2 infection on Wednesday, among the highest single-day totals since the beginning of the pandemic, according to preliminary data previously released by public health agency RIVM. The novel coronavirus is responsible for Covid-19, the respiratory illness which has killed 6,044 in the country so far.

The statistics on fatal cases increased by two, with both deaths having occurred on Tuesday. Three more people hospitalized in the last week of May were also diagnosed as having the viral infection, the RIVM said.

To date, 11,808 have required treatment in a hospital for the coronavirus disease.

By early Thursday morning, healthcare workers in the Netherlands had carried out 446,164 tests in total, of which 48,251 have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the RIVM said. That figure increased by 164 versus data released the previous day. 

While the RIVM noted that 9,297 had been tested on Wednesday, 13 of the 49 laboratories processing the tests had yet to report their data for that day. The Netherlands has a regular capacity to carry out 17,500 mucus swab tests per day, which could be expanded to 29,000 by running laboratories around the clock.