Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Stock image of Covid-19 test supplies and a face mask
Stock image of Covid-19 test supplies and a face mask - Credit: ivonnewierink / DepositPhotos - License: DepositPhotos
Health
Coronavirus
SARS-CoV-2
B117 coronavirus
Covid-19
Tuesday, 2 February 2021 - 07:31
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Estimated half of new Covid infections the B117 variant, Dutch gov't says

Of all the new coronavirus infections in the Netherlands, an estimated 50 percent are caused by the B117 variant first identified in the United Kingdom, the cabinet said in a letter to parliament, NOS reports.

The B117 coronavirus seems to be more contagious, so it was expected that it would quickly spread through the Netherlands and become the dominant strain in the country. Last week the RIVM said that about a third of infections could be traced back to this strain of the cronavirus.

According to the government, the reproduction number (R-number) of the B117 strain is estimated to be 49 percent higher than that of the original strain. In mid-January, the original strain's reproduction number was 0.85, which meant that each person infected with this strain passed it on to 0.85 other people. At that time, the B117 variant's R-number was 1.27. For the virus to be on decline, the R-number must be below one.

That lead to the estimate that half of all infections that started showing symptoms on January 26 were caused by the B117 variant.

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Summer is coming: Thermometers could hit 30 degrees Celsius this weekend
  • Dutch vacationers warned of changing traffic rules, stricter fines in some EU countries
  • NL-Alert tested at noon; 9 in 10 Netherlands residents received test message
  • New push to give asylum seekers quicker, more access to Dutch labor market
  • Many Netherlands residents fear disaster, few prepare for it
  • Art schools haven't taken measures to protect students against lecturers' bad behavior

Top stories

  • Trains expected to run from 9 a.m. around Amsterdam, Utrecht & The Hague
  • Most Dutch businesses facing higher costs they can’t pass on despite rising debt levels
  • Woman possibly abducted in Houten; Police looking for witnesses
  • Amsterdam train traffic still halted as outage continues; Cause still unknown
  • All train traffic halted to and from Amsterdam Central Station due to malfunction
  • Amsterdam apartment building uninhabitable after major fire

© 2012-2023, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content