Nearly 4,000 coronavirus infections this week; Covid patients “increasing gradually”

Another 655 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus, preliminary data released on Saturday by the RIVM showed. It raised the total number of infections for the week to 3,931, over a thousand more than the previous Monday-Saturday period.

The Rotterdam-Rijnmond and Amsterdam regions combined ro represent more than 45 percent of the new infections reported on Saturday. There were also 68 residents from the area around The Hague who tested positive for the virus.

Some 163 people were being treated in Dutch hospitals for Covid-19 on Saturday, an increase of five compared to the previous day. The patient total included 39 people who were in intensive care, one more than on Saturday.

"The number of Covid patients continues increasing gradually, both inside the ICUs and outside," said Ernst Kuipers, the head of the Dutch acute care providers network. "The number has doubled since the end of July," he said.

In fact, it was the highest total of ICU patients with the coronavirus disease since July 1. There were also 124 people being cared for outside of the ICU for Covid-19, an increase of four, patient coordination office LCPS said.

Early data from the RIVM showed that 24 people were admitted to the hospital for Covid-19 from Wednesday through Friday. Ten people were moved into intensive care over that time period.

A total of 2,992 people in the Netherlands have required intensive care for the coronavirus disease since the end of February. Some 1,923 were eventually released from the hospital, while 872 died during their ICU stay, according to the latest data from nonprofit agency NICE.