Coronavirus positive rate falls below 7% as infection avg. hits 6-week high

The percentage of people who tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection fell below seven percent for the first time in over 24 weeks, preliminary data from public health agency RIVM showed. Some 6.8 percent of people who scheduled their own coronavirus test with municipal health service GGD were diagnosed positive on Monday, and 6.9 percent on Tuesday.

At least 65 thousand and 67 thousand people were tested on those respective days, though not all results have been processed. The two-day total was 20 percent higher than last week, and Tuesday had the highest number of tests completed since December 23.

Still the health agency reported another 5,380 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 infection on Wednesday, the second straight day above five thousand. The day's total was 29 percent higher than a week earlier, and pushed the seven-day average up to 4,806.

The average reached its highest point in six weeks.

While the current total of coronavirus hospitalizations has remained stable, new admissions have gone up by three percent over the past week. That includes 191 people admitted to regular care from Wednesday to Thursday afternoon, and 50 others sent to intensive care units.

There were 1,925 patients with the coronavirus disease in hospitals on Thursday, up one percent in a day. The increase was entirely confined to the ICUs, which were treating 572 patients, a net gain of twelve. The other 1,353 were in the regular nursing wards.

Healthcare workers also vaccinated another 43,597 people against Covid-19 on Wednesday, the RIVM said. That was the most since last Friday, but still 11 percent lower compared to a week ago.

On average, 38,496 people were vaccinated each of the past seven days, a figure the Health Ministry expected to rise substantially by the end of the month.

An additional 50 deaths tied to Covid-19 were also reported to the RIVM. That brought the average down to 38. To date, 15,998 people in the Netherlands have died from the disease.

People in the country have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 infection a total of 1,138,796 times since the pandemic began.