Eight Dutch provinces red on European Covid map
Eight Dutch provinces are now red on the European coronavirus map. Limburg already had that color, but Friesland, Flevoland, Overijssel, Gelderland, Utrecht, Zuid-Holland, and Zeeland on Thursday also got the second highest warning level. The other four provinces remain on orange.
It has been a month since the last time the Netherlands was in such bad shape at the ECDC, the European counterpart of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). The number of new coronavirus infections in our country has been increasing for some time. On Tuesday, the RIVM reported that new cases increased by 44 percent in the past week compared to the preceding seven days. On Wednesday, more than 4,000 positive coronavirus tests were recorded on one day for the first time since end-July.
Our southern neighbors are also deteriorating on the coronavirus map. The whole of Belgium turned red. Last week part of the country was still orange. Germany was already almost entirely red and will remain so.
ECDC publishes its map every Thursday. The service looks at the number and percentage of positive tests in the two previous calendar weeks. The map has four colors. From low to high, these are green, orange, red, and dark red. Countries use the map to decide to tighten the rules for travelers to and from other countries.
Reporting by ANP