Dutch ICU leader warns of Belgium’s rising Covid-19 cases; Dutch patient total stable

Dutch healthcare expert Ernst Kuipers raised a red flag on Sunday about the rising number of coronavirus cases in Belgium. While optimistic about the situation in the Netherlands, he noted that if the public ignores advice meant to prevent a second wave of Covid-19 cases the situation in the country could take a turn for the worse.

"Local outbreaks, as well as the increase in the number of infections with our neighbors to the south, underline the importance of alertness and low-threshold testing," said Kuipers, the chair of the acute care network in the Netherlands. Last week, Belgian officials confirmed 800 new SARS-CoV-2 infections, a 32 percent increase compared to the week prior.

"With the latest numbers and the recent increases of confirmed cases, you can clearly see that we are at the start of a second wave," the top virologist in Belgium, Marc van Ranst, said in a broadcast on Belgian radio.

In the Netherlands, the number of patients with Covid-19 being treated in Dutch hospitals remained stable and low on Sunday, though the total ticked up slightly for the second consecutive day. There were 93 people with the coronavirus disease in hospitals, an increase of two compared to Saturday.

The total included 17 patients in intensive care, and 76 patients in other hospital departments. Both totals went up by one versus the previous day, patient coordination office LCPS said.

"The number of COVID patients in the hospital remains limited," Kuipers said.

On Friday, the Netherlands had 88 patients in hospital with the coronavirus disease. It was the lowest total since the first week of March.