Over 32,500 coronavirus infections today; Average has doubled in 10 days

The Netherlands recorded another 32,581 coronavirus infections between Saturday and Sunday morning, the RIVM announced. That pushed the seven-day moving average up 9 percent to a record-high 25,438. The average was double the figure reported on December 30, and has gone up 76 percent just in the past week.

The moving average has gone up for 12 consecutive days since hitting a low point for this wave on December 28. That date coincided with a statement from the RIVM that the Omicron variant was now dominant in the entire country, though it was already dominant in Amsterdam a week earlier.

The single-day total released on Sunday might have been the highest on record, were it not for an IT error on Thursday. Several thousand infections that should have been included in a report that day were instead added to Friday’s statistics, which led to a total of nearly 35,000 on January 7.

The day’s statistics included 2,474 infections in Amsterdam, which raised the city’s average up to a record 2,262. That was 124 percent higher than a week ago. Rotterdam’s average has also more than doubled in a week to 1,382, with 1,813 new infections reported among its residents. A new municipal record was set in The Hague, where 1,733 people tested positive. The average there has shot up 116 percent in a week to 869.

During the first seven days of January, 34.6 percent of those tested by the GGD were given a positive diagnosis for the infection. Testing figures have been on the rise since Christmas, with an average of over 72,500 tested by the GGD each of the first seven days of the year.

The continued advance of the Omicron variant has not yet translated to an increase in hospitalizations. This could be linked to the demographics of those infected. Preliminary data from the RIVM suggests that per capita infections have steadily fallen among those older than 70, and possibly also those in their sixties.

Those age groups were most affected by serious symptoms of Covid-19 in the past. The Covid-19 vaccine booster campaign started with people in the oldest age brackets, working down towards people who are in their forties and younger near the start of the year. Per capita infections are highest in those in their twenties, followed by people aged 10-19, and adults in their thirties. More complete data about this will be released by the RIVM on Tuesday.

There are 1,479 people in hospitals with Covid-19, a one percent decrease after accounting for new admissions, discharges and deaths. The total has gone down by 12 percent in a week. A similar fall would bring the tally closer to 1,310.

A total of 406 patients were in intensive care units, nine of whom were in Germany. That combined total was eight fewer than on Saturday afternoon. The other 1,073 patients were in regular care wards, a net decrease of three.

Hospitals admitted 120 patients with the disease between Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Thirteen of them were sent directly to intensive care units.

This week, Dutch hospitals admitted 1,001 Covid-19 patients in total, about 16 percent lower than a week earlier. That includes 118 intensive care patients, down from 164.