Over 4,500 coronavirus infections today, 975 patients with Covid-19 in Dutch hospitals

The Netherlands reported over 4,500 new coronavirus infections for the second day in a row, with 4,548 positive test results divulged on Tuesday. The early data from public health agency RIVM also linked 83 new hospitalizations to Covid-19, the most reported by the agency in a single day since mid-April.

To date, 13,020 people have required hospital treatment for the coronavirus disease, out of 144,999 who tested positive for the infection. The RIVM said 21 more deaths were connected to Covid-19, raising the death toll in the Netherlands to 6,482.

The infection total on Monday was just a bit lower than the record of 4,581 set on Monday. It was 50 percent higher than last Tuesday's total, and included 479 infections among Amsterdam residents (up 24%), 270 in Rotterdam (up 11%), and 187 in The Hague (up 30%).

There were 975 people being treated in Dutch hospitals for Covid-19 on Tuesday, the most since May 25. The total was higher by 83 compared to Monday, and was 41 percent higher than a week ago.

Ernst Kuipers, the head of the Dutch acute care providers network, said this week he expected a thousand admitted patients before the end of the week. "The number of admitted covid patients continues to rise rapidly. We expect this increase to continue in the coming days," Kuipers said on Tuesday.

"This is forcing hospitals in many places to scale down regular care," he said. This includes several hospitals in Noord-Holland and Flevoland, which have cut back on their non-Covid care as the second wave of infections turns into more hospitalizations. For the past seven days, Covid hospitalizations have risen by an average of over five percent.

Tuesday's total included 190 patients with the coronavirus disease in intensive care, an increase of 13, and 576 outside of intensive care, an increase of 60 in a single day.