Coronavirus infection average falls further; Covid patient total drops below 2,400

New infections of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in the Netherlands remained below six thousand for the fifth consecutive day on Wednesday, with public health agency RIVM revealing that 5,615 more people tested positive for the viral infection.

It pushed the seven-day rolling average down to 5,486, the lowest it has been since December 5. The total number of people hospitalized in the country for treatment of Covid-19 also fell to the lowest level since Boxing Day.

The trends in decreasing infections and hospitalizations were no cause for celebration, said Ernst Kuipers, the chair of the national acute care providers network. “Lying dormant is the British variant like a kind of peat fire," he said, referring to the B117 mutation of the virus. "You have to do something to push this variant down as well."

The Outgoing Cabinet announced on Wednesday a proposal to impose a curfew on the public and a litany of travel restrictions. Additionally, it reduced the number of guests allowed in a home to one per day, and brought down the maximum number of guests attending a funeral to 50.

So far this week, 14,772 people have been diagnosed with the infection, down 11 percent compared to last week. The moving average established on Wednesday fell 21 percent in a week.

The Wednesday single-day tally was nine percent lower than a week ago, but 30 percent higher than the total released on Tuesday. The three cities with the most new infections were Rotterdam (197), Amsterdam (163) and The Hague (132). The high tally in Rotterdam suggested it included a correction for missing data from an extremely low total a day earlier.

Deaths and hospitalizations

The RIVM also said that 87 more people in the Netherlands died from Covid-19, raising this week's total to 252. That was 22 percent lower than last week. The moving average on Wednesday sat at 83.

Hospitals in the country admitted 212 more people into regular care for Covid-19, according to patient coordination office LCPS. Between Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, some 27 patients with the coronavirus disease were also moved into intensive care units.

The total number of Covid-19 patients in care stood at 2,384 on Wednesday, a single-day decrease of 61 after accounting for admissions, deaths and discharges. That included 675 people in intensive care, down three from Tuesday, and 1,709 others in regular care, a drop of 58.

The combined patient total was five percent lower compared to last Wednesday. A similar five percent drop would put the patient total below 2,265 next week.

To date, 927,110 people have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the Netherlands, including 13,248 who died from Covid-19.