Coronavirus infections rising fast among 4-12 year old children
School-aged children in The Netherlands tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 at a higher rate than any other age group last week, according to data provided by the RIVM. Those between 4 and 12 years of age accounted for about 1,910 new coronavirus infections for the seven day period ending on Tuesday at 10 a.m. That was a 47 percent increase in a week.
About 15.5 percent of those in the age group who were tested for the virus were diagnosed with the infection. People in that age group were tested over 12,300 times last week, an 80 percent increase.
About 19.1 percent of teenagers from 13 to 17 also tested positive for the infection. They accounted for at least 1,471 more infections, a decrease of 2 percent. Testing among young teens rose about 10 percent to just over 7,700.
All students in primary and secondary schools in the northern region of the Netherlands returned to classrooms eight days ago. Those in the central region started classes again on Monday, while those in the south return from summer break next Monday.
National testing figures from the GGD municipal health services showed a 12 percent rise in people scheduling their own tests, driven up largely by increased testing of children. The national positivity rate fell from 13.7 percent down to 13.1 percent as a result.
Total weekly coronavirus infections diagnosed in The Netherlands rose by less than two percent to 17,575. That put per capita infections at about 102 per 100 thousand residents. Out of the 25 security regions in the country, 10 had a higher per capita infection rate than the national figure. The three highest were Amsterdam-Amstelland (162.3), Zaanstreek-Waterland (143), and Rotterdam-Rijnmond (142.9).
Meanwhile, about 3,445 tested positive within two weeks of returning from an international trip. That was about 7 percent lower than the previous week. The positivity rate of the international travellers also fell from 21.3 to 19.6 percent.
The most frequently visited countries were Turkey (845), Spain (410), Morocco (336), Germany (295) and France (286). There were also over a hundred infections found in people who visited Belgium (182), Greece (164), Croatia (137) and Italy (133).
The basic reproduction number remained at 1.01 on August 16. That estimate suggests that 100 people contagious with the infection passed the coronavirus on to 101 others. A figure below 1.00 should translate to a decline in contagious people in the country.
Preliminary data from intensive care monitor NICE showed that there were 415 hospitalisations for Covid-19 the past seven days, down from the previous week's revised figure of 426. The subset of these which were intensive care admissions remained at 97.
This data conflicts with figures from patient monitor LCPS. That organisation said that 535 people were hospitalised with coronavirus disease this past week, up from 533. New intensive care patients in their data remained flat at 105 after three days of below average hospital admissions.
According to NICE, an estimated 60,475 people in The Netherlands were treated for Covid-19 in a regular care ward since the start of the pandemic. They survived the ordeal about 87 percent of the time. Roughly 13,532 people were treated in an ICU for the disease, with a survival rate below 73 percent.
People in the Netherlands tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus 1,941,055 times.
