Dutch Covid hospital total plunges below 2,000; Lowest point in 10 weeks
Hospitals in the Netherlands were treating 1,899 patients with Covid-19 on Thursday, five percent fewer compared to the previous day. That was the first time the number dipped below two thousand in over two months, and the lowest the figure has been since March 11.
It was also the fourth time in ten days that the patient total fell in a single day by over a hundred, records from the LCPS showed. The total included 621 patients in intensive care, a net decrease of 16, and 1,278 patients outside of the ICU, down 87 compared to Wednesday afternoon.
The combined total was 15 percent lower compared to a week ago, putting the Netherlands on pace to have about 1,620 Covid-19 patients by next Thursday if the trend continues.
Hospitals admitted 159 patients with the disease between the afternoons of Wednesday and Thursday, bringing the moving average down to 186. That average has fallen 15 consecutive days, dropping to its lowest point since February 11. It was nearly 41 percent lower than the third wave peak set on April 23.
Another 4,688 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection, the RIVM said on Thursday. That brought the seven-day average down to 4,603, the lowest since March 10.
That average has also seen a consistent decline, having decreased each of the past 11 days. The infections average on Thursday was 45 percent below the third wave peak of average daily infections also set in the last half of April.
The eight millionth Covid-19 vaccine dose was also expected to be administered on Thursday. An estimated 7,899,037 shots have been put into arms, including 146,193 given out on Wednesday, the Ministry of Health said.
That brought the seven day average down slightly to 146,277, a figure which was about 14 percent higher compared to a week ago. Over 450 thousand shots have been so far this given this calendar week, with the Netherlands at pace to break a million on Sunday.
The RIVM also announced on Thursday that healthy people born in 1966 could begin booking their appointments for a vaccine shot.