Dutch coronavirus infection average below 2,000 for first time in 75 days

For the first time in nearly ten weeks, the seven-day average for new coronavirus infections in the Netherlands fell below 2,000. Raw data from the RIVM revealed another 1,370 infections of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which brought the moving average down three percent to 1,980. The average has dropped by 17 percent in a week, according to the RIVM update on Monday.

A combination of raw and corrected data put the figure at 1,955. Daily infections are typically lower on Sundays and Mondays compared to the rest of the week. This is often due to fewer people scheduling a coronavirus test, and additional turnaround time needed to process them.

Coronavirus testing carried out by the GGD has also fallen by about 4 percent on average.  Of those tested by the GGD between September 12 - 18, about 8 percent were diagnosed with the infection, down from 9.2 percent a week earlier.

The three cities with the most new infections on Monday were Amsterdam (75), The Hague (58), Utrecht (54) and Rotterdam (40). For the latter, it was the lowest daily total since June 29, before the Delta variant wave gripped the Netherlands. On average, Rotterdam has posted 134 infections each of the past seven days, down 5 percent in a week.

Amsterdam's total was the lowest since July 1, which brought the city's average down to 116. That figure has dropped by 37 percent in a week. The Hague's total was the lowest in five weeks, bringing the average down to 90, 17 percent fewer than a week ago. The infection total in Utrecht was slightly below its moving average of 58, which has gone fallen by 14 percent.

Hospitals in the Netherlands were treating 565 patients with Covid-19 on Monday, up one percent in a day. It included 198 people in intensive care units, a net increase of 3 patients, and 367 others in regular care wards, also a net increase of 3.

Combined, the patient total has dropped off by 14 percent in a week. A similar decrease would put the total below 490 by the start of next week.

Dutch hospitals admitted 41 new Covid-19 patients between Sunday and Monday afternoon, including 11 ICU patients. Data from the LCPS showed that the average this week was at 54 total patients per day, down 22 percent from the previous seven-day period. That includes about 10 people sent to intensive care per day.

Some 1,986,241 positive coronavirus tests have been registered in the Netherlands since the start of the pandemic. The two-millionth will likely be recorded before the end of the month.