Covid-19 hospital patients fall to low levels but new coronavirus infections spike up

Medical centers in the Netherlands were treating just 83 patients for Covid-19 on Sunday, a substantial decrease, according to patient coordination office LCPS. It was the lowest patient total since March 6.

Although there were 26 fewer people being treated in Dutch hospitals on Sunday compared to the previous day, the number of new patients who tested positive for a SARS-CoV-2 infection shot up to its highest daily total since June 7.

Public health agency RIVM updated its open data portal to show that 214 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus which causes Covid-19, according to broadcaster NOS. The number of new infections were not necessarily diagnosed in the previous 24 hours, with more clarity expected in an official weekly report from the agency on Tuesday.

This week's new infections could reflect the third straight significant increase in the Netherlands.

Preliminary data from the RIVM showed that the agency registered 1,214 positive tests during the fourth week of July, which would roughly equate to a 23 percent hike. It would end the seven-day period with an average of 173 newly-reported infections per day. Already the third week of July showed 987 infections, an 84 percent increase compared to the previous week.

At the same time, a substantial decrease in the number of hospitalizations brought the total number of Covid-19 patients admitted to medical centers to the same level as the first week of March. "The number of COVID patients in Dutch hospitals is currently lower than at any time in recent months," said Ernst Kuipers, the head of the acute care providers network in the Netherlands. "If the number of new infections does not continue to rise, the number of hospital admissions will remain limited."

Among the 83 patients were 16 being cared for in the country's intensive care units, down two compared to Saturday. Outside of the ICU, hospitals were treating 67 patients for the coronavirus disease, a decrease of 24.

Intensive care units have treated 2,937 people from the Netherlands for Covid-19, with 867 having died in hospitals. Some 1,889 recovered and were later discharged, according to figures from nonprofit organization NICE.