Fewest Covid-19 patients in ICU since March 12

With six fewer Covid-19 patients in intensive care on Thursday, the number of people being treated in ICU for the coronavirus disease fell to 67, according to patient coordination office LCPS. That is the lowest total since March 12, data from nonprofit organization NICE showed.

Other departments in Dutch hospitals were treating 261 people for the illness, a decrease of 28. "The Covid occupancy in hospitals is still going down. In the meantime, quite a few ICUs no longer have Covid patients," said Ernst Kuipers, one of the country's leading acute care professionals.

The Netherlands has sent 2,922 people to intensive care for treating the effects of Covid-19, including about 60 patients who were treated in German hospitals. Of that total, 852 died in the ICU, while 1,615 recovered and were discharged from hospital.

"The overall utilization of the IC occupation remains unchanged, which indicates that regular care is not yet at its old level," Kuipers said. Figures provided by the LCPS showed that 635 patients without Covid-19 were being cared for in the ICU, a decrease of 20.