Dutch Covid hospitalizations up for third day with further increase expected

After a busy 24-hour period with the most new Covid-19 patient admissions in over six weeks, the Dutch hospital system was treating 1,984 people for the coronavirus disease on Tuesday afternoon. That figure rose for the third consecutive day, showing a four percent increase over Monday's total after also accounting for patient discharges and deaths.

"Hospital occupancy has increased by 175 patients over the past three days," said patient coordination office LCPS. Weeks ago, it said the growing spread of the more contagious B117 variant of the coronavirus would lead to a new rush of Covid-19 hospital cases starting at the end of February, a prediction that was showing signs of becoming reality on Tuesday.

"Therefore, we expect the number of patients in hospitals to continue to rise over the near future."

Tuesday's hospital total included 1,444 patients in regular care, a net increase of 69, and 540 in intensive care, a net increase of four. The hospital figure was three percent higher than a week ago, but it was still about a third lower than at the peak of second wave hospitalizations on January 5.

Between the afternoons of Monday and Tuesday, hospitals admitted 280 new coronavirus patients, the most in a single day since January 18. That included 52 patients sent to intensive care, the most in 36 days. Another 228 patients in regular care, about 27 percent higher than the moving average of 179.

Coronavirus infections up five percent

The RIVM said on Tuesday that 4,032 more people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, up five percent over figures reported on Monday. It brought the seven-day moving average up to 4,600. Still, the two-day total from this calendar week of 7,858 was down about three percent from last week.

An additional 66 deaths were also tied to Covid-19, the RIVM said in a statistical update. That brought the moving average down to 44.

To date, some 1,096,433 people in the Netherlands have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, including 15,649 people who conclusively died from Covid-19.