Netherlands tops 35,000 coronavirus infections for first time; Hospital total falls further

A total of 35,521 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus between Thursday and Friday morning, setting a new single-day record in the Netherlands. The previous record of 34,954, was set just one week ago. Meanwhile, the number of patients with Covid-19 in Dutch hospitals dropped to its lowest point in 74 days.

The new record number of infections pushed the seven-day moving average up slightly to 31,256. That was the seventh straight day that the daily average set its own record. The average has risen 45 percent in a week. The latest figures show that about 90,000 people are going to the GGD for a coronavirus test daily, with about a third testing positive.

The update put the Netherlands over 3.5 million coronavirus infections diagnosed since the start of the pandemic, though testing opened up to the public in June 2020. In the 24 days since December 21, about 500,000 people tested positive for the coronavirus, surpassing the number of infections diagnosed during the entire month of November. It took 83 days to get from 2 million to 3 million infections.

Amsterdam led all cities with 2,753 residents testing positive in the past 24-hour period. That brought the city’s moving average to 2,684, a weekly increase of 41 percent. Some 1,997 Rotterdammers tested positive, bringing their city’s average up to 1,701, a 50-percent increase in a week. In The Hague, 1,341 residents tested positive for the coronavirus infection. That city’s average doubled in a week to 1,174.

At the same time, the situation in the hospitals continued to improve. There were 1,289 people with Covid-19 in hospital care on Friday afternoon, a 5 percent improvement in a day. The patient total has fallen by 16 percent in a week to its lowest point since November 1. A similar decrease would bring the total below 1,100.

There were 335 patients in intensive care units, a net decrease of 26 after accounting for new admissions, discharges and deaths. The ICU total has not been so low since November 11. The other 954 patients were in regular care wards, a net decrease of 48 that took the total below a thousand for the first time in almost 11 weeks.

Dutch hospitals admitted 120 new Covid-19 patients in the past 24 hours, 12 of whom were sent to intensive care units. Hospitals admitted an average of 132 patients with the disease each of the past seven days, down 7 percent in a week.

Average daily Covid-19 hospitalizations have not been so low since October 29. Even then, intensive care units were taking on 18 new Covid-19 patients daily, where as now they are adding roughly 15 patients per day.