Over 57,500 new Covid infections; Hospital average ticking up

Some 57,549 people in the Netherlands tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus between Thursday and Friday morning, the RIVM said. That far surpassed the single-day record set five days earlier, which was just shy of 42,500. The IT systems linking coronavirus testing facilities to the GGD and the RIVM have been overwhelmed by the continued increase in infections. The RIVM told NOS that Friday's figure was an accurate representation of the situation in the country, but acknowledged in the notes of its data release that figures this week do not yet paint a clear picture.

About 30,000 positive tests from the past four days have not yet been added to the RIVM's database. A day earlier, the RIVM said about 27,000 reports were still missing. "We are working hard on solutions to catch up and remedy this backlog," the health institute said.

The new data pushed the seven-day average up 9 percent 39,711, the 14th consecutive record-breaking day according to the raw data. The average has increased every day since December 28. By Friday, it was 27 percent higher compared to a week earlier, with a combination of raw and corrected data putting the figure at 39,679.

Adding in the missing 30,000 positive tests would push the average up to 44,000. During the January 13-19 period, about 40.5 percent of those tested by the GGD received a positive result for the coronavirus infection. That rate set a new seven-day record, as did the average number of tests administered daily, 114,324. Testing has increased by a fourth in a week.

Amsterdam led all cities with 3,318 infections in the new report, followed by Rotterdam and Utrecht, which were tied at 1,909. The Hague recorded 1,870 new infections, Amersfoort had 1,099, and Tilburg reported 1,033. Eighteen cities had more than 500 infections in the day's report.

After falling steadily since early December, daily hospitalizations for Covid-19 have shown signs of rising. The average number of daily hospital admissions was 119 on Friday, the third straight daily increase. Average intensive care admissions remained flat at 11. Hospitalizations over the past seven days remained about 10 percent lower compared to a week earlier.

Still, the number of people in hospitalized care for Covid-19 symptoms fell during the past 24 hours. There were 1,108 people people with the disease in Dutch hospitals, a decrease of 16 after accounting for new admissions, discharges, and deaths. The hospitalized total remained at its lowest point since October 30, with Dutch ICUs treating the fewest number of Covid-19 patients since November 5.

The LCPS said 287 people were in intensive care units, a net decrease of three. All of them were in Dutch hospitals, as German ICUs were no longer treating any Dutch patients. The other 821 people were in regular care wards, a net decrease of 13.

Dutch hospitals admitted 128 people with Covid-19 between Thursday and Friday afternoon, including 11 sent directly to an intensive care unit.