Covid-19 7-day average drops for the first time in 10 days; 5 millionth vaccine given

The national health agency RIVM reported 8,123 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 on Saturday, a thirteen percent decrease versus the previous day. The seven-day rolling average also dropped for the first time in ten days to 8,322, while the total number of hospitalized patients decreased. Meanwhile, more than 5 million Covid-19 vaccines have now been administered in the Netherlands.

Saturday's single-day tally was a three percent decrease compared to last week. The total number of new infections for this week was 49,651, a ten percent increase compared to the same period last week.

The three cities with the highest number of new infections on Saturday were Rotterdam (407), The Hague (324), and Amsterdam (292). In Rotterdam, infections went down by four percent compared to last week. In The Hague, the increase was six percent versus last Saturday. In the Capital, infections went up by four percent.

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

The number of Covid-19 patients in Dutch hospitals dropped by 21 patients. On Saturday, the patient coordination center LCPS reported a total of 2,514 hospitalizations. This is a four percent decrease compared to the previous day but was still a one percent increase versus last week. Following this trend, we can expect the number of hospitalizations to be around 2,611 by this time next week.

The number of patients in intensive care also dropped. On Saturday, the LCPS reported 816 IC cases, a decrease of 21 patients. Another 1,698 patients are being treated in regular care facilities, a decrease of 78 patients compared to the previous day.

Between the afternoons of Friday and Saturday, hospitals admitted 322 new coronavirus patients. Among them, 273 were placed in regular care wards, a one percent increase compared to last week. Another 49 patients were moved to the intensive care, 18 percent less than last week.

In the period between Friday and Saturday, another 86,661 people were given a Covid-19 vaccine. This brings the number of inoculations in the past seven days to 96,411.

Still, the vaccination rate decreased by 45 percent compared to last week. So far, 5,039,385 jabs have been given since January 6, according to an estimate from the RIVM.

To date, 1,453,124 people in the Netherlands have tested positive for the SARS-CoV2 infection. That includes 17,038 people who died from the viral disease.