RIVM: Over 6,500 new coronavirus infections; Covid hospital total up tenfold since Sept. 3
Some 6,504 more people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection, a new single-day record according to data from public health agency RIVM. The total beat the previous record, set on Friday, by over 500.
The Covid-19 patient total in hospitals also rose again on Saturday, increasing by 51 to 1,190. The patient total has now gone up tenfold since September 3, having risen 37 of the past 38 days to reach a level not seen since May 20.
The coronavirus infection figures reported by the RIVM on Saturday were 64 percent higher than a week earlier. It brought this week’s total up to 32,443, up 60 percent compared to last week.
Early data from the RIVM showed that 630 of the 6,504 new infections involved residents of Amsterdam, a startling increase of 74 percent compared to last week. Some 391 of Rotterdam’s residents tested positive for the viral infection, an increase of 27 percent, and Utrecht had the third highest daily total with 221, a rise of 35 percent.
The Hague, which consistently falls among the top three cities by infection total, wound up in fourth place with 188. That was down over ten percent compared to last Saturday.
At his regular weekly press conference on Friday, Prime Minister Mark Rutte warned that “we won’t escape” additional societal restrictions if the situation “doesn’t improve in the next few days.” New measures could further affect the hospitality industry, cultural sector, and athletic competitions, but Rutte refused to speculate on what restrictions the Netherlands may face.
"Regardless of what we should or should not do next week, we will at least come up with a road map with a plan for future measures like they use in Ireland," he said.
The RIVM said that 24 more deaths were attributed to Covid-19, as were 51 more hospitalizations. Residents of the Netherlands have now tested positive for the viral infection 168,280 times since the end of February. That includes 13,248 who have required treatment in a hospital, and 6,567 people who died from the coronavirus disease.
Covid-19 patient total could hit 1,900 next week
Saturday’s hospital patient total was nearly 61 percent higher than a week earlier, having risen by an average of seven percent each of the past seven days. At that rate, the Dutch medical system could expect to treat over 1,900 patients by the end of next week, based on data from patient coordination office LCPS.
There were 955 patients being treated outside of intensive care, an increase of 55, and 235 patients with the coronavirus disease in ICU, a decrease of four.
“The pressure on hospitals continues to increase. Patients are being moved from the Randstad to hospitals everywhere else in the country,” said Ernst Kuipers, the head of the Dutch acute care providers network.
The intensive care system has treated 3,534 Covid-19 patients since the end of February, including 2,161 who recovered, and 952 who died in a hospital, figures from nonprofit organization NICE showed.