Covid infections rise for third consecutive day; 787 IC patients and expected to increase further

The number of new SARS-CoV-2 infections rose for the third day in a row on Saturday. The national health agency RIVM reported 7,725 new cases, a one percent increase versus last week. Occupation in intensive care wards remains critical. Hospitals reported a total of 787 ICU patients, and "this increase is expected to continue in the coming week," according to the Dutch patient coordination center LCPS. As a result, hospitals aim to scale up ICU capacity to handle 1,550 patients.

The seven-day rolling average reached 6,794. The total number of new infections for this week was 40,640, a six percent decrease compared to the same period last week.

The three cities with the highest number of new infections on Saturday were Rotterdam (375), Amsterdam (325), and The Hague (247). In Rotterdam, infections went up by 14 percent compared to last week. In the Capital, the increase was 19 percent versus last Saturday. In the Hague, infections went up by six percent.

'More capacity needed'

The total number of Covid-19 cases in hospitals dropped by four patients, but the number of IC occupants keeps rising. On Saturday, the patient coordination center LCPS reported a total of 2,491 cases. This is a six percent increase compared to last week. Following this trend, we can expect the number of patients to be around 2,648 by this time next week.

The number of patients in intensive care remains at a critical level. On Saturday, the LCPS reported 787 IC cases, a net increase of three patients. Another 1,704 patients are being treated in regular care facilities, a decrease of seven patients compared to the previous day.

Head of the LCPS, Ernst Kuipers, warns that "the numbers of patients have increased significantly in the past week, especially in the ICU. This increase is expected to continue in the coming week. More capacity is needed. This is at the expense of regular care. The LCPS will spread optimally to guarantee as much access to healthcare in all regions as possible. "

Between the afternoons of Friday and Saturday, hospitals admitted 357 new coronavirus patients. Among them, 304 were placed in regular care wards, an 25 percent increase compared to last week. Another 53 patients were moved to the intensive care, two percent less than last week.

Vaccination rate down six percent this week

In the period between Friday and Saturday, another 57,268 people received their covid vaccine. This brings the number of inoculations in the past seven days to 393,865, six percent less than last week. So far, 3,135,909 jabs have been placed.

Another 23 deaths were also reported as being caused by Covid-19, the RIVM said. That brought the seven-day average to 21. Fatal cases of the coronavirus disease were down six percent for the week, the RIVM data showed.

To date, 1,342,447 people in the Netherlands have tested positive for the SARS-CoV2 infection. That includes 16,754 people who died from the viral disease.