Over 16,000 coronavirus infections for 2nd straight day; Hospital total tops 1,750

The Netherlands continued its harrowing trend of high coronavirus infections with 16,287 more reported by the RIVM on Friday. That was the second-highest figure since the start of the pandemic, just 77 shy of the record set on Thursday.

The data was released less than four hours before a 7 p.m. press conference when Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Health Minister Hugo de Jonge are due to reveal new coronavirus measures. The measures are expected to take the country into a three-week partial lockdown starting Saturday in which hospitality businesses and non-essential retailers will have to close their doors at 7 p.m. nightly, and many events could be cancelled.

The Cabinet was still debating the eventual move to a strict 2G coronavirus access pass policy barring anyone without a Covid-19 recovery certificate or proof of full vaccination from entering a myriad of locations.

The new infections reported on Thursday pushed the seven-day moving average up another six percent to a new record of 13,141. That figure, based solely on raw data from the RIVM, was 48 percent higher compared to last Friday. It has gone up by 355% in four weeks. On September 25, the day the Netherlands ended all social distancing requirements, the moving average was 1,697.

A combination of raw and corrected data put the average at 13,100. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control predicted that figure will rise to about 15,500 by the end of next week, or 18,000 in the worst-case scenario.

The Hague ranked third of all cities with 414 new infections diagnosed between Thursday and Friday morning. That was the highest total ever recorded there. Amsterdam ranked first with 689, more than 200 above its average, and Rotterdam was next with 483, about 60 above the average there.

Hospitals in the Netherlands took on another 259 people with Covid-19 during the last 24 hours, the most since mid-May. That included 34 people sent directly to an intensive care unit.

That raised the current hospitalized total three percent to 1,755. That was 30 percent more compared to a week earlier. A similar gain would put the hospital total at 2,284.

The current total includes 353 people in intensive care units, a net increase of 23 after accounting for new admissions, discharges, and deaths. That was the highest figure reported by the LCPS since June 4. The other 1,402 patients were in regular care wards, reflecting a net increase of 33 that took the figure to its highest point since May 18.

Hospitals admitted 1,527 patients during the seven-day period ending Friday afternoon, a 24 percent increase in a week. That includes 193 people sent directly to intensive care, which also rose by a quarter.

To date, 2,269,235 positive coronavirus tests have been registered by the RIVM.