Fifth straight coronavirus decrease; Covid patient total falls for 1st time since Oct. 1

The number of new coronavirus infections reported by public health agency RIVM fell for the fifth straight day, with 7,657 people testing positive for the SARS-CoV-2 viral infection. Meanwhile, the total number of Covid-19 patients in treatment at hospitals on Wednesday fell for the first time since October 1.

Wednesday's infections tally was six percent lower than a week ago, and 16 percent lower than the seven-day rolling average of 9,106. It was also about 1.5 percent lower than data on Tuesday showed.

It pushed the infection total this week up to 23,739, which was 17.5 percent lower than the same period last week. To date, some 383,523 people in the Netherlands have tested positive for the infection.

The three cities with the most new infections were Rotterdam (414), Amsterdam (365) and The Hague (229), with each being between 20 and 30 percent lower than their respective seven day averages. While Amsterdam showed a five percent gain compared to a week earlier, Rotterdam's total fell by almost 26 percent and the amount of new cases went down by 20 percent in The Hague.

Despite the improving infection and hospitalization figures, another 106 deaths were linked to Covid-19, the RIVM data showed. That raised the seven-day average up to 70. Since the end of February, 7,682 deaths were confirmed to have been caused by Covid-19.

Dutch hospitals admitted 236 more coronavirus patients over the past 24 hours. That was lower than the seven-day average of 273. Also since Tuesday hospitals moved 50 more patients into intensive care, just shy of the daily rolling average of 53.

There were 2,572 people being treated for the coronavirus disease in hospitals on Wednesday, a net decrease of 81 compared to Tuesday afternoon. The three percent decline was the first single-day fall since October 1, and the first time a three percent decrease was recorded since September 2.

Still, the patient total was eight percent higher than a week earlier. Outside of intensive care, hospitals were treating 1,960 Covid-19 patients, a decrease of 84. The intensive care system saw a net increase of three patients to 612. That total includes two patients who were previously transferred to hospitals in Germany.

On average, the hospital total has risen by 1.2 percent for each of the past seven days. At that rate, the Dutch healthcare system would have 2,789 admitted patients on next Wednesday.

To date, hospitals have taken on 20,607 coronavirus patients in non-acute care departments, and 4,671 in intensive care. Of all patients, 3,931 died in the hospitals, according to nonprofit organization NICE.