10,272: Coronavirus infections back over the 10K mark with ICU figures rising

Health officials in the Netherlands said that another 10,272 positive coronavirus tests were recorded in the Netherlands between Wednesday and Thursday morning. That was the highest single-day total since July 17, with six dates during the mid-July Delta variant peak that were above the 10,000 mark.

The latest data was released on the same day that the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control gave its strongest warning about coronavirus risk levels for a majority of provinces in the Netherlands. The warning could affect travel restrictions other countries place on those crossing their borders from the Netherlands.

The 10,272 new infections pushed the seven-day moving average up five percent to 8,376, according to raw data from the RIVM. The average was 33 percent higher compared to last Thursday, but after several weeks of intensifying growth the increase has shown signs of slowing down.

The average positivity rate reached 17.1 percent based on testing at a GGD location from October 27 through November 2. That has consistently increased for six weeks, and was approaching the highest recorded peak average of 18.5 percent in October 2020 during the second wave of infections.

While Amsterdam (370), Rotterdam (252), and The Hague (217) remained the three cities with the most new infections, the figures in smaller cities like Ede (158), Breda (145), and Haarlem (123) were surprisingly high. The data there was on par with the fourth and fifth largest cities, Utrecht (152) and Eindhoven (120).

The number of patients in intensive care for Covid-19 symptoms rose by its widest margin since April. There were 273 people with the disease in an ICU on Thursday afternoon, up 23 since Wednesday.

The figure has increased steadily since October 6, and has nearly doubled in three weeks. The regular care wards were treating 1,054 patients with Covid-19, a net decrease of six after accounting for new admissions, discharges, and deaths.

The combined hospitalized total of 1,327 was one percent higher than on Wednesday. The total has swelled by 41 percent in a week. A similar increase would put the tally above 1,870.

During the preceding 24 hours, hospitals admitted 171 patients with the disease. That pushed the seven-day moving average up to 174. Of the new patients, 25 were sent to an intensive care unit.

Hospitals have admitted 1,215 people with Covid-19 in seven days, including 151 who immediately needed intensive care. The previous week's total was 890, with 121 ICU patients included in that figure.

A total of 2,166,796 positive coronavirus tests have been recorded by the RIVM since the start of the pandemic.