Covid ICU cases over 600 to reach 6-month high as 23,000 more test positive

There were 605 people being treated for Covid-19 in intensive care units on Thursday afternoon. That was the highest number of patients with the disease in the Dutch ICU system since May 23. Another 12 ICU patients from the Netherlands were in German hospitals, patient coordination service LCPS said.

The Dutch ICU total rose by 18 in a day, after accounting for new admissions, discharges and deaths. There were 2,208 others with Covid-19 being treated in regular care wards, a net increase of 27.

The combined total of 2,813 Covid-19 patients in the Netherlands was two percent higher compared to Wednesday. It was also 11 percent higher than a week earlier. A similar 11 percent increase would put the total up over 3,110.

Hospitals took on 410 patients with the disease in the past 24 hours. That was the most on any given day in 2021. That included 58 patients sent directly to an ICU. A total of 2,522 patients with the disease were admitted in the past seven days, nine percent more than the previous week.

The RIVM recorded a total of 23,142 new infections of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus between Wednesday and Thursday morning. That was the third highest total since the start of the pandemic, but it included data missing from Wednesday's figures due to an IT error.

It pushed the seven-day moving average up slightly for the first time in four days. Based solely on raw data, the figure stood at 21,588, still three percent lower compared to a week ago. That figure largely levelled off last week, though it was still unclear what impact the Omicron variant will have on future infections.

The three cities with the most new infections were Rotterdam (933), Amsterdam (801), and The Hague (524). In Rotterdam, the figure was more than a third above average, and Amsterdam's total was about a fourth above average.