Weekly coronavirus infections rise 500% with 13.4% positivity rate

Some 51,957 people in the Netherlands tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus over the past seven days, more than 500 percent higher than the result a week ago, the RIVM said on Tuesday. That is the highest percentage increase recorded by the RIVM since testing began. Testing was not carried out on a wide scale until June 2020.

About 13.4 percent of people tested were diagnosed with the infection, compared to 4.6 percent a week earlier. Coronavirus testing also rose significantly last week, with 371 thousand people getting tested at a branch of the GGD, more than double the previous week.

The RIVM said 37 percent of traced infections were likely acquired at a bar, cafe or restaurant. Roughly 15 percent were tied to a party, 16 percent to a visit to another household, and seven percent were contracted at the office. Data showed 28 percent of infections were spread from someone to a member of their household.

Additionally, 2,269 of those who tested positive last week traveled within 14 days of their positive test. The top destinations were Spain (794), Portugal (333), Belgium (219), France (204), and Germany (172).

The total number of infections was the highest since the seven-day period ending on Tuesday, May 4. It meant that there were approximately 301 people who tested positive per 100 thousand residents, with an increase seen in every age group.

Infections skyrocketed among the population from 18 to 24 years old. Some 1,731 people tested positive per capita, over nine-times higher compared to last week. About 560 residents from 25-29 tested positive per capita, also up 856 percent.

Five percent of infections occurring between 18 to 29 year olds involved student activities, the RIVM said. Around 37 percent of infections determined in that age group also were acquired at hospitality businesses.

Those between 30 and 59 were far more likely to be infected at home (54 percent), with 13 percent happening during a home visit. Just three percent of those infected in that age range happened at a hospitality business.

As reported earlier, 100 contagious people likely infected 217 others on June 28, according to the RIVM model. That number is refined over two weeks, and was likely to rise higher. The RIVM stopped trying to calculate the number of people contagious with the virus because its model was based on hospital cases.

The RIVM used data from hospital monitor NICE to show that 60 people were hospitalized for Covid-19 last week, up from 47. That included 12 intensive care patients, up from seven. The RIVM was notified of 11 Covid-19 deaths, down from 13.

People have tested positive for the coronavirus infection 1,744,700 times since the start of the pandemic. Nearly 30 thousand people have died including 17,769 fatal cases reported to the RIVM, and an additional 12 thousand only reported to the country's national statistics office.

The intensive care system has treated 12,871 patients for Covid-19, with a survival rate below 72 percent. An estimated 57,975 people have been treated in regular care wards, with a survival rate of about 87 percent.