Over 21,600 positive coronavirus tests as reproduction value dips below 1.00; Hospital total falls
The RIVM registered 21,612 more coronavirus infections in the Netherlands between Thursday and Friday morning. The result caused a slight increase to the seven-day moving average, which stood at 21,625. The near parity between the daily total and the average supported the RIVM’s hypothesis that the number of new infections has largely stabilized.
The basic reproduction (R) value, which reflects the spread of the coronavirus, fell below 1.00 for the first time in months. The RIVM released an estimate of the situation Friday that showed the R value was 0.99 on November 18. That means that 100 people contagious with the virus infected 99 others, who then spread the coronavirus to another 98 people.
A value below 1.00 signifies that the number of daily coronavirus infections should trend downward. The last time it was below 1.00 was on September 22. Soon after, the Cabinet eliminated most coronavirus restrictions that existed at that time. It then hovered around 1.20, peaking at 1.31, during the two months that followed leading to the biggest known surge in infections in the Netherlands since testing on a wide scale began.
Roughly 96,800 people were tested at the GGD during the seven-day period that ended December 1. During that time, 20.3 percent of the GGD tests came back positive, down from a peak of 22.5 percent about a week earlier.
The three cities with the most new infections on Friday were Amsterdam (1,130), Rotterdam (728), and The Hague (470). Amsterdam’s total was far higher than its moving average of 808, while Rotterdam’s total was just about 6 percent above average. The Hague’s tally was 9 percent below the mean.
Hospitals in the Netherlands were treating 2,728 people with Covid-19 on Friday, a decrease of 3 percent in a day after accounting for new admissions, discharges and deaths. The new total was about 5 percent higher compared to last Friday. A similar weekly increase would raise the patient total back to 2,871.
The current total includes 603 people being treated in intensive care units, a net decrease of two. There were 14 others not included in the total being treated in ICUs in Germany. Another 2,125 people were being treated in regular care wards in Dutch hospitals, 83 fewer than on Thursday.
Dutch hospitals admitted 295 new Covid-19 patients between Thursday and Friday afternoon, including 36 sent to an ICU. A total of 2,433 patients were admitted during the past seven days, about 2 percent higher compared to the previous week. That includes 328 sent directly to an ICU, a 12 percent increase.