Dutch Covid-19 hospitalizations went up for fourth straight day

Eleven more people were being treated for respiratory illness Covid-19 in Dutch hospitals on Monday, bringing the total up to 118. It was the fourth straight day with a patient increase, with admissions outside of the ICU at their highest total since July 3, according to figures from patient coordination office LCPS.

Apart from intensive care admissions, 94 people were being treated for the respiratory illness, a sharp rise since a low point during the crisis was reached just three days ago. On July 10, there were 69 patients being treated in other hospital wards for Covid-19.

Intensive care units were also treating 24 people for the disease, the same as on on Sunday. That figure was at 18 on July 5, its lowest since the pandemic's impact began to hit the country. ICU admissions for the coronavirus disease have remained at or below 25 since July 2.

The total coronavirus admissions figure was at its lowest on July 9, when just 91 people were being treated in the hospital. Despite the rising hospital admissions, no patient with the coronavirus disease has died during their ICU stay since July 7, data from nonprofit organization NICE showed. During that same time, five patients recovered and were discharged. To date, 2,921 people have required intensive care in the Netherlands, of which 864 have died, and 1,859 were discharged.

"We are currently seeing slight shifts in the number of COVID patients in Dutch hospitals," said Ernst Kuipers, the head of the acute care providers network in the Netherlands. "The overall ICU admissions are still at historically low levels," he said.

There were just 545 people being treated in intensive care on Monday, including the 21 patients with Covid-19. That is well below half of the normal ICU capacity in the Netherlands.