Covid-19 infections drop below 10k, but no peaceful Christmas for hospital staff as number of patients keeps rising

A peaceful Christmas was not an option for hospital staff, as the number of SARS-CoV-2 patients keeps rising. However, there might be a hint of light in dark times, as the number of daily infections dropped for the first time in four days. On Saturday, the Dutch public health agency RIVM reported 9,880 new cases. This was a 14 percent decrease compared to Friday and a 20 percent decrease versus last week. 

Saturday’s numbers bring the total tally of infections this week to 64,516. The seven-day rolling average is around 11,083 infections a day. 

The three cities with the highest number of infections were Amsterdam (315), Rotterdam (305), and The Hague (279). The number in the capital reflected a three percent increase compared to the previous day and a 46 percent decrease versus last Saturday. Rotterdam’s infections remained the same for two days in a row while having increased 23 percent compared to this time last week. In The Hague, infections rose by 71 percent compared to Friday, but only 3 percent compared to the previous week.

The RIVM also recorded another 49 deaths. This brings the weekly average to 74. The number of victims on Saturday were a 49 percent decrease compared to Friday and a 13 percent decrease versus last Saturday. 

Hospital staff could not enjoy a quiet Christmas this year, as the number of patients remains critical. Hospitals admitted 213 new patients to regular care facilities and 42 new patients to intensive care. 

This brings the total number of Covid-19 patients to 2,342. Among them, 1,734 are in regular care, down eight compared to Friday, and 608 are in the IC, a net increase of three compared to the previous day. The new number of hospitalizations reflects a two percent increase compared to Friday and a 13 percent increase versus last Saturday. At this rate, we can expect the number of hospitalized patients to be around 2,659 this time next week. 

To date, hospitals have treated at least 6,445 Covid-19 patients in the IC and 30,154 in regular care. Some 10,970 people in the Netherlands have died of the virus since the start of the pandemic in March.