Dutch Covid hospital cases down sharply; Infection average falls for 10th day

Hospitals were treating 2,642 people with Covid-19 on Wednesday. That was 122 fewer than on Tuesday, a 4 percent decrease after accounting for new admissions, discharges and deaths. In terms of patient numbers, it was the largest decline since May 19.

The drop was almost entirely recorded in the regular care wards, where the patient total fell by 114 to 1,996. The last time that total dipped below two thousand was on November 22. The other 646 patients were being treated in intensive care units, a net decrease of eight. The ICU tally includes 20 patients being treated in German hospitals, which was unchanged since Monday.

The combined patient total of 2,642 was seven percent lower compared to a week ago. A similar decrease would bring the total down to 2,460.

Hospitals in the Netherlands admitted 256 new Covid-19 patients in the preceding 24 hours. That includes 34 people sent directly to intensive care. Hospital admissions averaged 288 each of the past seven days, ten percent lower compared to the previous week.

A total of 13,557 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus between Tuesday and Wednesday morning. That brought the seven-day moving average down to 16,022, according to raw data from the RIVM. It has gone down for ten consecutive days, and was about 24 percent lower than it was a week ago.

A combination of raw and corrected data put the average at 15,984. The figure fell to the lowest it has been since November 16.

A positive diagnosis for the coronavirus infection was given to about 23.6 percent of those tested by the GGD between December 7 - 13. Just over 63,000 people were tested each day in that period.

Amsterdam led all cities with 685 new infections among its residents, slightly above its moving average. Another 466 tested positive in The Hague, also just above average. Some 446 others tested positive in Rotterdam, about a fourth below average.