Current Covid patients less sick than in first wave, internists say

Patients currently infected with the coronavirus seem to be less sick than patients infected in the first wave of Covid-19, the Dutch internists association NIV reported based on reports from its members.

"Patients admitted to the hospital ward seem to become less ill at the moment, the length of stay has decreased by a third, and the percentage of patients that still have to be transferred to the ICU appears to have been more than halved," said internist-infectiologist Annelies Verbon.

She stressed that Covid-19 still has "an undiminished major impact" on individual cases.

The association did not give a reason for the less serious course of the disease. It may be due to more effective treatment of Covid-19, now that hospitals and healthcare workers know more about the disease. 

The NIV stressed that it is important to continue to investigate possible changes compared to the first wave. "New insights not only play a role for effective treatment of patients, but are also important for capacity planning in hospitals," the association said.