Netherlands expected to report 2 millionth positive coronavirus test today
The Netherlands will pass the 2 million coronavirus cases mark on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the counter stood at 1,999,592 positive tests since the start of the outbreak.
The coronavirus was first diagnosed in the Netherlands on 27 February 2020. A man from Loon op Zand in Noord-Brabant was infected during a work trip to Italy. He was admitted to the Elisabeth TweeSteden hospital in neighboring Tilburg. The news came during a live TV broadcast about the virus, when then Minister of Healthcare Bruno Bruins was handed a note about patient number 1. A day later, a woman from Diemen turned out to be infected. On day 9 of the outbreak, an 86-year-old man from Oud-Beijerland became the first person in the Netherlands to die from the virus.
Not everyone wast tested in the first wave. That was possible in the second wave, but then the enthusiasm to get tested was so great that not everyone managed to get a test appointment. It is not known how many people recovered or died from the virus without being diagnosed. It took until 6 February this year, day 346 of the outbreak, for the number of positive tests to exceed 1 million. Wednesday is day 581, so 235 days after the millionth positive test.
Amsterdam counts the most coronavirus cases in the Netherlands. Among the capital's inhabitants, 117,430 positive tests were registered. Rotterdam follows with 98,393 confirmed infections. The Hague has 65,976 coronavirus cases and Utrecht 42,952. This is followed by Tilburg (28,816), Eindhoven (27,265), Almere (24,507), Groningen (21,191), Breda (21,035) and Den Bosch (20,022).
A total of 18,162 people definitely died from a coronavirus infection. Rotterdam has the most deaths (986), followed by Amsterdam (857) and The Hague (572). The Gelderland villa village of Rozendaal and the Friesland Wadden island of Vlieland are the only municipalities without registered coronavirus deaths. The number of deaths plummeted since the start of the vaccination campaign, just after the turn of the year.
Reporting by ANP