39,500 positive Covid tests but 122,000 go uncounted; Over 50% tested by GGD are infected

Over 39,500 coronavirus infections were reported in the Netherlands on Saturday, the lowest total in 10 days––but at least 46,000 positive tests diagnosed since Friday morning have not been registered in the systems of the RIVM. The Dutch public health institute said it confirmed 39,536 positive tests between Friday and Saturday morning.

It estimated that 122,000 samples taken by the GGD which were diagnosed positive during the past 12 days have yet to be included in the RIVM’s database. The data backlog increased from 76,000 on Friday.

Saturday’s underreporting from the RIVM brought the official seven-day moving average down slightly to 60,181, still 60 percent higher compared to a week ago. If the RIVM had included all missing data just in Saturday’s report, the seven-day average would have topped 77,600, representing an 86 percent weekly increase.

A record-high 50.6 percent of people tested by the GGD from Jan. 21-27 were given a positive diagnosis for the coronavirus. Additionally, 145,000 people were tested each day during that period, a new record which is equivalent to a 21 percent increase compared to the previous week.

The three cities with the most infections on Saturday were Amsterdam (2,773), Breda (1,111) and The Hague (952). Figures from most major municipalities were wildly different from averages seen over the past two weeks. For example, Amsterdam’s total was over a thousand below average, Rotterdam’s figure was off by nearly 1,500 and The Hague saw an unusual dip from an average of over 2,200 down to just 400. Tilburg registered 152 infections, where its average has been over 700 per day.

Covid ICU cases hit new low not seen since October

There was a mix of positive and negative news about the coronavirus situation in Dutch hospitals on Saturday afternoon. Intensive care units were treating 213 people with Covid-19, according to patient monitor LPCS. That was the lowest figure since Oct. 28, setting a new three-month low.

The ICU tally fell by 25 in a day after accounting for new patient admissions, discharges and deaths. The regular care wards saw a net increase of 13 to 916 total Covid-19 patients, the most since Jan. 14. Overall, hospitals were treating 1,129 patients with the disease, about one percent higher than a week ago.

Hospitals in the Netherlands admitted 174 patients with the coronavirus disease since Friday afternoon, the most in a single day in over three weeks. Ten of them were sent directly to intensive care units.

Hospitals admitted 148 Covid-19 patients on average each of the past seven days. That reflects a 25 percent increase since last Saturday, bringing the average to its highest point since Jan. 5.