Coronavirus cases down 7% last week; Higher percentage test positive
Some 48,186 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection through the week ending at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Though that was down by seven percent compared to the previous week, there was also a ten percent fall in the number of completed coronavirus tests.
That made it the third week in a row where the percentage of people who tested positive for the virus went up. Out of those who scheduled their own coronavirus test with the GGD, about 8.9 percent were diagnosed with the infection, up from 8.5 percent for the week ending March 30. That figure was 7.6 percent in mid-March.
It was not yet known whether there were fewer tests carried out mainly because of the Easter weekend holiday. "In the coming days it will become clear whether the decline in the number of positive test results will continue," public health agency RIVM said in a statement.
The decrease in per capita infections was also seen across every age demographic. "The relative decrease was greatest in the age groups under 18 years (-11%) and from 80 years (-15%)," the RIVM noted. In fact, the latter showed the lowest per-capita infection rate in at least six weeks. Those aged 18-24 had the highest rate of infection, followed by those from 25-29, which was nearly the same as people in their thirties and forties.
There were still about 154 thousand people contagious with the coronavirus infection a week ago, the RIVM said. The basic reproduction number fell to 1.01, meaning that 100 contagious people were likely to infect 101 others.
As previously reported, the number of intensive care unit admissions for Covid-19 has continued to rise. The total jumped by 19 percent last week to 376. At the same time, there was an approximate eight percent fall in the number of hospitalizations in a regular care ward, down to 1,212.
"The pressure on hospitals and hospital staff remains high," the RIVM said.
For the second consecutive week the RIVM received fewer confirmed reports of people with Covid-19 dying as a result of the illness. That number dropped by 17 percent to 142, though some reports may have been delayed because of the Easter weekend.
That was the lowest weekly total since the first week of October. To date, 16,649 people are known to have died from Covid-19.
People in the Netherlands have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 infection 1,313,007 times.