Dutch coronavirus average sets new record with 22,100 more infections today
The Netherlands established another new record for average number of daily coronavirus infections on Sunday. The seven-day moving average rose by one percent to 22,543, based solely on raw data. That eclipsed the previous record of 22,466 set on Wednesday.
The new average was 7 percent higher compared to a week ago. The figure has held between 22,000 and 22,550 for the past six days, suggesting the average was nearing a peak. However, concerns were rising about the newly discovered Omicron variant, believed to be even more contagious than the more prevalent Delta variant.
The new variant was discovered for the first time in the Netherlands after 61 of the 624 people on two flights from South Africa arrived on Friday. At least 13 of the 61 were infected with the Omicron variant.
A total of 22,193 people tested positive for any variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus between Saturday and Sunday morning. It was the 14th consecutive day where over 20 thousand infections were registered. During that time, the moving average has jumped from just over 15,800 to Sunday’s record high.
On average, 21.7 percent of those tested by the GGD from November 20 - 26 were diagnosed with the infection. That figure has steadily fallen from a record peak of 22.5 percent recorded earlier in the week. About 93,500 tests were completed each of those seven days, down slightly from the record of just below 94,200.
Amsterdam recorded over nine hundred infections for the second straight day, and the fourth time this week. Some 920 people in the capital tested positive, raising the average up to 874. That was followed by Rotterdam with 642 infections, slightly lower than the average of 654. Another 566 residents of The Hague also tested positive, moving the average to 520.
Hospitals in the Netherlands were treating 2,642 patients with Covid-19 on Sunday afternoon, an increase of 18 in a day after accounting for new admissions, discharges, and deaths. Growth in that figure has also slowed down recently, though it reached the highest total since May 3. It was 14 percent higher than a week ago. A similar increase would put the total at 3,017.
It includes a slight decrease in intensive care patients. There were 551 people with Covid-19 in an ICU, a net decrease of four. The other 2,091 were being treated in regular care wards, a net increase of 22.
Hospitals admitted 276 people with Covid-19 during the preceding 24 hours, including 46 sent directly to an intensive care unit. Patient admissions were about 25 percent below average, though ICU admissions were the same as the moving average.
In the past week, hospitals took on 2,425 patients with the coronavirus disease, an increase of 16 percent in a week. That includes 324 sent to an intensive care unit, 20 percent more than the previous seven-day period.