Coronavirus infections back on the rise; Unvaccinated account for 66% of positive tests since July 11
There was a five percent increase in the number of people who tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection during the seven-day period ending Tuesday morning. It was the first weekly increase in infections in the Netherlands since the week ending July 27 as the Delta variant surge began to subside. With more people showing up to be tested for the viral infection, the positivity rate fell from 14.6 to 13.7 percent.
Some 17,315 people tested positive during the past seven days, or roughly 100 infections per 100 thousand inhabitants. Last week, 98 infections were diagnosed per capita. The most recent model for the basic reproduction (R) of the virus put the R-value at 1.01, meaning 100 contagious people infected 101 others.
The week ending August 17 marked a one-year low in the number of people who scheduled their own coronavirus test, but that showed signs of reversing course. Nearly seven percent more tests were conducted by the GGD health service over the past seven days, or 111,327 in total. Because of that increase, the rate in which people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 infection dropped nearly a percentage point.
66% of infected are unvaccinated, 18% partially vaccinated
More than 368 thousand people tested positive over the past six calendar weeks, with nearly 306 thousand of them having consented to sharing details about their vaccination status with the RIVM. About 66 percent, or nearly 202 thousand people, had not received a single dose of any Covid-19 vaccine by the time they were tested. “The majority of people who tested positive in the under-40 age groups were unvaccinated,” the RIVM said.
Roughly 18 percent, or 55 thousand people, were considered partially vaccinated against the disease caused by the coronavirus infection. The remaining 16 percent were fully vaccinated against the disease when they tested positive for the infection.
The Ministry of Health has been exploring different strategies for extending its vaccination program to younger groups of people, 90 percent of whom say they are willing to get vaccinated against the disease caused by the coronavirus infection. With the vaccination program faltering for two months, health officials were allowing more opportunities for getting vaccinated without an appointment.
Mobile vaccination buses were likely to make stops at the country’s higher education institutions in the weeks to come as in-person classes begin again. Additionally, a targeted approach was expected to continue to visit specific neighborhoods and communities where vaccination turnout has been low.
Nearly 4,000 test positive after international trip
Almost 12,750 of those who tested positive the past seven days shared information about their recent travels. The RIVM said about 3,700 people had been abroad within two weeks of their positive diagnosis for the coronavirus infection. The countries most frequently visited were Turkey (660), Spain (478), France (435), Morocco (368) and Greece (282). Six other destinations were in the itineraries of over a hundred infected people, including Germany (257), Croatia (231), Belgium (186), Italy (168), Austria (115) and Bulgaria (103).
Roughly 80 percent of people were infected by another member of their household, by a household guest, or by visiting the home of an infected person.
Over 400 hospitalized for Covid-19
Some 405 people were hospitalized for Covid-19, including 92 who were sent directly to an ICU. That was nearly identical to data initially released by the RIVM last week based on figures from hospital monitor NICE.
However, the hospital data released by the RIVM for the week of August 10-17 were later revised upwards by 53 patients in total, allowing the RIVM to claim a 12 percent drop in hospitalizations in its latest report. No explanation was given for the discrepancy in hospital data from August 10-17.
The RIVM also was notified of 48 deaths caused by Covid-19 last week, up from 42 the previous week.
