Social distancing reminder marked on a bench in Amsterdam. 23 Jan. 2021 - Credit: NL Times / NL Times

Saturday, March 13, 2021 - 15:50

Highest number of Covid-19 infections in eight weeks; hospitalizations drop below 1,900

On Saturday, the Dutch national health agency RIVM reported the highest number of positive SARS-CoV-2 infections since January 14. The single-day tally was at 6,446 new cases, a six percent increase compared to the previous day and a 20 percent increase compared to last week.

This has pushed the seven-day average up to 5,150, a 13 percent rise versus last Saturday. The total number of new infections for this week was 31,481, a 16 percent increase compared to the same period last week.

The three cities with the highest number of new infections on Saturday were Rotterdam (290), Amsterdam (217), and The Hague (143). In Rotterdam, infections went up by 34 percent compared to last week. In Amsterdam, however, infections fell by 48 percent compared to last Saturday. In the Hague, infections dropped as well, by eight percent.

Meanwhile, the number of Covid-19 patients in hospitals dropped to 1,875 on Saturday, a one percent decrease compared to last week. This number also reflects a two percent decrease compared to the previous day.

554 patients are being treated in intensive care wards, down 22 compared to Friday. Another 1,321 patients were being treated in regular care, down 13 patients compared to the previous day. If this current decreasing trend continues, there will be around 1,890 hospitalized Covid-19 patients next week Saturday.

Between the afternoons of Friday and Saturday, hospitals admitted 268 new coronavirus patients. Among them, 244 were placed in regular care wards, a 39 percent increase compared to last week. Another 44 patients were moved to the intensive care, 22 percent more than last week.

In the period between Friday and Saturday, another 48,227 people were vaccinated. The brings the number of inoculations in the past seven days to 261,644. So far, 1,832,962 jabs have been placed.

Another 22 deaths were also reported as being caused by Covid-19, the RIVM said. That brought the seven-day average to 35. Fatal cases of the coronavirus disease were down twelve percent for the week, the RIVM data showed.

To date, 1,151,218 people in the Netherlands have tested positive for the SARS-CoV2 infection. That includes 16,046 people who died from Covid-19.