Near 22% drop in weekly Covid infections as Omicron sub-variant becomes dominant

The number of new coronavirus infections in the Netherlands is falling. In the past seven days, 493,055 positive tests were registered. That is the lowest number in three weeks, and the first weekly decline since December.

Of those positive tests, 482,695 were in the past seven days. That is 21.7 percent less than in the seven days before when more than 616,000 tested positive, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) said. In addition to the 616,000, another 208,000 tests were recorded after a three-week backlog of unregistered data was cleared.

More than 57 percent of all coronavirus tests were positive, and that is also a decrease. However, fewer people went to the GGD to get tested. The health service’s sites conducted 833,000 tests in the past week, down from nearly a million the week before, and just over a million a week earlier.

The basic reproduction (R) value fell below 1.00 for the first time in over two months, dipping to 0.98. That means that 100 people contagious with the coronavirus infected 98 others, who then spread the virus to another 96 people. It is likely that fewer people will become infected on a weekly basis when the R-value is below 1.00, if the model from the RIVM is accurate. The latest figure reflects the situation on January 31. It fell from 1.11 a week earlier.

New Omicron version now dominant

A new version of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has become dominant in the Netherlands, according to data through the early part of this week. The BA.2 version is now more common than BA.1, the first Omicron version that reached the Netherlands towards the end of last year.

Version BA.2 is even more contagious than BA.1, but according to the RIVM, there are no indications that it causes more severe symptoms of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. “Data from the United Kingdom and Denmark indicate that BA.2 spreads much more easily within households than BA.1,” the RIVM said.

“The protection vaccination affords against infection of the BA.2 variant, just like against an infection with BA.1, is lower in people who have only received the basic series of vaccinations a long time ago.” The vaccine booster shot protects people equally well against both versions of the variant, the institute added.

Infections in younger age groups show sharp decline

The number of new coronavirus cases among young people is falling, but the majority of infections still occur in these age groups. A slight increase can be seen among the elderly, according to the weekly figures.

Some 109,915 people in the 10-19 year old age group tested positive in the past seven days. That is 31 percent less than a week earlier, when the coronavirus was diagnosed in nearly 160,000 in that group. In children under 10, a decrease of almost 33 percent can be seen, from almost 57,000 to just over 38,000.

In their forties, the group to which many of their parents belong, the number of cases fell by almost 22 percent. In that age group, nearly 75,000 people tested positive last week, compared to just over 96,000 a week earlier. The number of confirmed infections is also falling among people in their twenties, down 12 percent, and those in their thirties, which dropped by 18 percent.

The number of new coronavirus infections began to increase from the age of 65. The number of positive tests among people over 90 increased by 25 percent, from 655 to 820. There were also 21 percent more positive tests among people in their eighties than last week.

Covid hospital data widely varied

There was mixed data about hospital admissions linked to Covid-19, with one source showing a decrease, and another showing an increase. In the past week, 1,149 people were hospitalized with Covid-19, according to the RIVM. A week earlier there were 1,393 admissions. Of the 1,149 people admitted, 88 ended up in intensive care, compared to 122 a week earlier.

Separately, patient coordination service LCPS said that 1,409 patients with Covid-19 were admitted to hospitals the past seven days. That was 6 percent higher than the previous week. The only decrease it recorded was among intensive care patient admissions, which fell from 108 to 87.

Figures from the RIVM about Covid-19 hospitalizations are supplied by intensive care monitor NICE, which are often revised upwards later. That organization typically only counts patients who are being actively treated for the disease. However, the LCPS counts all patients who have tested positive for coronavirus, regardless of their symptoms. That is because those patients have to be isolated from others, putting increased pressure on hospital resources.

The number of reported deaths tied to Covid-19 did rise. In the past seven days, the RIVM was informed that 78 people died as a result of the coronavirus disease. That is the highest weekly figure since the beginning of January.