Coronavirus infections shoot back up towards 17,000; Amsterdam posts new record

Some 16,796 residents of the Netherlands tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus between Thursday and Friday morning. That was the highest figure since December 11, according to raw data from the RIVM. It pushed the seven-day moving average up for the third day in a row.

That average reached 13,252, wiping out nine days of improvements. In fact, the moving average was four percent higher compared to last Friday. That represented the first week-to-week increase in a month.

For several weeks, the RIVM has repeatedly cautioned the public that the downward trend in coronavirus infections was likely to stall out and begin to climb again. This was attributed to the highly contagious nature of the Omicron variant, which is now the dominant variant in the country. Just in Amsterdam, 84 percent of positive coronavirus samples tested at random on Wednesday were found to contain the new variant.

National testing by the GGD during the seven-day period ending December 29 showed that 26.8 percent of those tested for any variant were infected with the coronavirus. That set a new weekly record. About 47,500 people were tested each day during that time.

Amsterdam led all cities with 1,380 new infections on Friday. That was the most reported in a single day in the capital since the start of the pandemic, though testing was not widely available until June 1, 2020. The record number of infections brought the city's moving average up to 887, a 30 percent increase in a week.

Rotterdam followed with 772 infections, well above the moving average of 583. Another 456 residents tested positive in Utrecht, 57 percent above average.

Hospitals were treating 1,779 people with Covid-19. That was five percent lower compared to Thursday afternoon. The hospitalized total has dropped by 17 percent in a week, and a similar decrease would put the figure below 1,500.

The total includes 494 patients in intensive care units, 13 of whom were still in German hospitals. The ICU tally fell by 11 after accounting for new admissions, discharges, and deaths in the past 24 hours. The other 1,285 patients were in regular care wards, a net decrease of 80.