Coronavirus infections hit new record of 2,223

The number of new coronavirus infections reported by public health agency RIVM on Monday totaled 2,223, a 71 percent increase compared to last Monday, and a 20 percent increase over Sunday's total. The surge in new infections was also met by another rise in the number of patients hospitalized for Covid-19, a figure which has risen daily since September 2.

On Monday, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague led the Netherlands with the most residents testing positive for the virus. The metropolitan areas around those three cities, as well as Utrecht, Leiden, and Haarlem, have been subject to new social restrictions to slow the spread of the virus since Sunday evening.

There was a 16 percent increase in the total number of hospital patients receiving care for Covid-19, which jumped up by 57. That increase was the highest recorded by patient coordination office LCPS since it began distributing statistics in early April. The trend is not likely to change any time soon, said Ernst Kuipers, the head of the Dutch acute care network.

“The number of patients admitted, both in the clinics and in the ICU, has risen again. The next week will be no different," Kuipers said. 

The patient total included 85 people being treated in intensive care units, an increase of eight. It was the highest number of Covid-19 patients in ICU since June 15.

There were also 325 people being treated outside of the ICU, the most since June 10. It was an increase of 49 over Sunday's total, the largest increase in non-acute care departments since May 11.

To date, the ICU system has treated 3,167 people from the Netherlands for Covid-19, with 2,073 eventually being released from the hospital. Nonprofit organization NICE noted that 900 people with the coronavirus disease died in intensive care since the end of February.