Daily coronavirus infections below 2,000 for six days; Hospital total drops

Another 1,417 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, public health agency RIVM said on Friday. That brought the seven-day moving average down to 1,647.

The last time the average was that low was roughly 38 weeks ago, as the Netherlands was beginning to experience a second wave of infections. The average has fallen by 38 percent in the past week, with six straight days of daily infections below the 2,000 mark.

The three cities with the most new infections were The Hague (92), Rotterdam (83) and Amsterdam (51). Only The Hague posted a figure above its moving average (+27%).

There were 729 people being treated for Covid-19 in Dutch hospitals on Friday, reflecting a single-day drop of seven percent. Over the past week, the hospital total has been slashed by a third reaching its lowest point since October 1.

Should the combined total fall at the same rate for the upcoming week, there will be about 500 patients in care next Friday.

That current total included 281 patients in intensive care, a net decrease of 16. The other 448 patients were in regular care wards after a net drop of 38.

Hospitals admitted 59 Covid-19 patients into care between Thursday and Friday afternoon, including eight who were sent to the ICU. That was roughly on par with the moving average.

No update to the country's vaccination statistics due to an IT system outage at municipal health service GGD, the RIVM said.

To date, people have tested positive for the coronavirus 1,670,498 times in the Netherlands.