Over 15,600 new coronavirus infections; Amsterdam breaks record
A total of 15,667 coronavirus infections were reported to the RIVM between Friday and Saturday morning. That pushed the seven-day moving average up for the fourth straight day. At 13,686, the average was ten percent higher compared to a week earlier, the most significant sign that the weeks-long decline in infections has reversed course.
Of the new infections, 1,413 were found in residents of Amsterdam. That broke the all-time record of 1,380, set one day earlier. No other municipality in the Netherlands has reported nearly as many infections in a single day. It brought the capital’s moving average up to 982, up 41 percent from the week before.
Amsterdam was the first place in the Netherlands where the Omicron variant of the coronavirus was known to have become the dominant source of infection. Last week, the variant was confirmed to be dominant across the entire country.
In Rotterdam, 669 more people were diagnosed with the coronavirus infection, according to Saturday’s data. That brought the city’s average up to 619, a 33 percent increase in a week. Utrecht also had 419 infections, more than a third above average, while The Hague had 349, about 10 percent below average.
The basic reproduction (R) value of the virus continued to rise, with the most recent dating placing the figure at 0.95 on December 16. That means that 100 people contagious with the virus likely infected 95 others, who then passed on to another 91 people. A week earlier, the figure was 0.90. With diagnosed infections on the rise since then, it is likely the R number will continue to increase.
Roughly 26.8 percent of those tested by the GGD during the seven-day period ending Wednesday morning learned they were infected with the coronavirus. The GGD tested about 47,500 people each of those seven days.
Meanwhile, hospitals were treating 1,660 people for Covid-19, the lowest total since November 10. The hospital figure fell by 7 percent since Friday afternoon, after accounting for new admissions, discharges, and deaths. The total had gone down by 17 percent in a week.
Out of the current total, 472 patients were in intensive care units, including 13 in Germany. That was 22 fewer than a day earlier. The other 1,188 were being treated in regular care wards, a net decrease of 97.
Dutch hospitals admitted 150 patients with Covid-19 between Friday and Saturday afternoon, including 17 sent directly to an intensive care unit. On average, hospitals admitted 173 patients with the disease each of the past seven days, down 9 percent in a week.