Covid infections up 15% this week; Hospital cases up 8%

The number of daily new SARS-CoV-2 remains high as the seven-day rolling average hits 7,338, the highest since January 11. On Sunday, the national public health agency RIVM reported 7,513 new cases. This was a 15 percent decrease compared to the previous day but still, a seven percent increase compared to last week. 

The cumulative number of infections for the previous calendar week was 51,365, a 15 percent increase compared to the same period the previous week. 

The three cities with the most new infections on Sunday were Rotterdam (346), Amsterdam (303), and The Hague (269). In Rotterdam, infections went up 19 percent compared to last week. In the capital, the number of cases decreased by two percent compared to the previous week. In The Hague, cases went up by 25 percent this week. 

Hospital rates up eight percent 

The total number of patients being treated for Covid-19 in Dutch hospitals continues to increase. On Sunday, the patient coordination center LCPS reported a total of 2,248 hospitalizations, a net increase of 12 patients versus Saturday. This reflects an eight percent increase compared to last week.

655 patients were stationed in intensive care wards, down two compared to the previous day. Another 1,593 patients were being treated in regular care, an increase of ten patients compared to Saturday. If this current trend continues, there will be around 2,441 Covid-19 hospitalizations next week. 

Between the afternoons of Saturday and Sunday, hospitals admitted 223 new coronavirus patients. Among them, 182 were placed in regular care wards, a six percent drop compared to last week. Another 41 patients were moved to the intensive care, a 32 percent increase versus last Sunday. 

Dutch vaccination rate drops further among EU countries

An estimate from the RIVM also showed that, so far, 2,355,458 doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered. That was an additional 31,847 injections on Saturday, bringing the number of vaccines in the past seven days to 284,984.

According to last week's data provided by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the Netherlands currently ranks twenty-first among EU member states for the percentage of the population that has received the first dose of the vaccine. The data shows that eleven percent of the population eligible for a vaccine have received their first shot in the Netherlands. A little over five percent have also received their second dose. 

Another 15 deaths were also reported as being caused by Covid-19, the RIVM said. That brought the seven-day average to 27.  In the past week, 189 people died of the virus, six percent less than the previous week. 

To date, 1,252,437 people in the Netherlands have tested positive for the SARS-CoV2 infection. That includes 16,465 people who died from Covid-19.