Dutch coronavirus average tops 3,000 with virus spreading as fast as in early July
Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands are up around 50 percent this week, with the seven-day moving average at 3,020 on Thursday. That is the highest since August 3.
A total of 3,736 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the RIVM said. It was the third straight day where the health institute reported over 3,600 infections.
The percentage of people testing positive for the viral infection has also been rising fast. About 11.2 percent of people tested by the GGD from October 7-13 received a positive diagnosis. A week earlier, that rate was 8.9 percent.
Additionally, the basic reproduction (R) number also rose back to a point not seen since the first week of July, when the true scale of the Delta variant's infectiveness became clear. The R number reached 1.26 on September 30, meaning that 100 people contagious with the coronavirus passed it on to 126 others, who then gave the virus to another 159 people.
On September 14, that figure was 0.89, the lowest point during the fourth wave. The Netherlands abandoned social distancing on September 25, and reopened most hospitality, cultural, and events venues to 100 percent capacity with the use of the coronavirus access pass system.
With infections rising fast since the start of the month, Covid-19 hospitalizations admissions have also been increasing quickly. Hospitals admitted an average of 64 patients with the coronavirus disease each of the past seven days, up 27 percent from the previous weeklong period. ICU admissions remained the same, averaging ten per day.
Hospitals were treating 543 people with Covid-19 on Friday afternoon, nine more than the previous day. The figure has gone up every day for a week and was 16 percent higher than the previous Friday. A similar increase would push the figure up to 629.
The current hospital total included 406 patients in regular care wards, a net increase of 12 after accounting for new admissions, discharges, and deaths. The other 137 were in intensive care units, a net decrease of three.