Over 500 Covid-19 patients in Dutch hospitals; Quadrupled since Sept. 2

The total number of patients in Dutch hospitals with Covid-19 has risen for the 22nd straight day, reaching 501 on Thursday. The patient total quadrupled in the past three weeks.

Not since June 7 has the Netherlands had more than 500 patients hospitalized because of Covid-19, according to data from patient coordination office LCPS. "The number of admitted Covid patients is now increasing in all regions of the country. The LCPS is spreading patients out in order to evenly distribute the pressure in hospitals as best as possible," said Ernst Kuipers, the head of the Dutch acute care network.

There were 106 patients being treated for the coronavirus disease in Dutch hospitals on Thursday. The increase of two in a day brought the ICU tally to its highest point in 112 days. An additional 395 people were being cared for outside of the ICU, an increase of 24.

Since the beginning of the crisis, the hospital system has treated 3,209 residents of the Netherlands for Covid-19. Some 903 of them died while in the ICU, and 2,082 were eventually released from the hospital.

Despite rising infections and hospitalizations, 21 of the 25 GGD municipal health services have cut back on their source and contact tracing. The direct communication between the affected GGDs and those who came into contact with someone who tested for the virus was being limited to the elderly and those at higher risk of serious illness if they become infected.