Covid hospital total drops to lowest point in two weeks, still 139 new deaths

The Dutch public health institute RIVM reported 7,383 new SARS-CoV-2 infections on Saturday, the lowest number since Dec 11. This brings the seven-day rolling average to 7,565.

Saturday's numbers were a ten percent decrease compared to the previous day and a 14 percent decrease versus last Saturday. This week's total number of new infections is now 45,514, down 11 percent compared to the same period the previous week.

The total number of hospitalized patients also continues to fall. On Saturday, hospitals were treating 2,567 Covid-19 patients, a net decrease of 69 compared to Friday. Among them, 1,874 were in regular care wards, and 693 were in the ICU. Following the current trajectory, we can expect the total number of hospitalized patients to be around 2,453 next week.

The patient coordination office LCPS expressed a tone of cautious optimism. They stated on Saturday that "we seem to be slightly over the top of the plateau. In the past week, the number of Covid patients admitted has decreased by 5%. This decrease is most pronounced in the clinic, the number of IC patients admitted shows only a slight decrease."

Meanwhile, the number of newly admitted patients rose again compared to Friday. Hospitals admitted 285 new Covid-19 patients, among whom 44 were brought to the IC, seven more than the previous day. The other 241 were admitted to regular care facilities. This was 24 more patients than on Friday.

It is still too early to breathe a sigh of relief. In an interview, IC doctor and chairman of the Dutch Association for Intensive Care, Diederik Gommers, said that this might only be "the calm before the storm," considering the spread of the new, more contagious, variant common to the United Kingdom.

Saturday's numbers also saw a stark increase in Covid-related deaths. The RIVM reported 139 victims, a 56 percent increase compared to Friday and a 266 percent increase compared to last week.

The three cities with the highest number of new infections were The Hague (223), Rotterdam (201), and Amsterdam (184). In The Hague, infections have risen both in comparison to Friday and last Saturday. The rise in cases was 68 percent and 19 percent, respectively. The numbers in Rotterdam reflected a 5 percent increase versus Friday and a one percent decrease compared to last week. In the capital, the number of cases continues to fall. Saturday's numbers reflect a 38 percent drop compared to the previous day and a 34 percent decreases versus last Saturday.

To date, some 866,235 people have tested positive for the virus. Non-profit organization NICE reported that at least 40,336 patients were admitted to hospitals. Among those patients, 6,553 died while receiving treatment.