Covid ICU level near 17-week low; Infections increase for first time in 6 days

Patient coordination office LCPS said that 173 people with Covid-19 were occupying a bed in a Dutch intensive care unit on Wednesday afternoon. The ICU total has not been so low since October 21, nearly 17 weeks ago. The figure reflected a net decrease of eight in a day after accounting for new admissions, discharges, and deaths.

Another 1,477 patients were being treated in regular care wards, a net increase of two. The combined patient total of 1,650 was 8 percent higher compared to last Wednesday. A similar increase would push the patient count up to 1,785.

Hospitals in the Netherlands admitted 191 patients with Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, 12 of whom were sent directly to intensive care. An average of 200 patients were admitted each of the past seven days, close to an eight-week high.

The RIVM recorded 63,779 coronavirus infections between Tuesday and Wednesday morning, the health institute showed in its daily data update. That was about 1,200 more than the RIVM reported a day earlier, snapping a five-day streak where the total declined.

Although it was the highest number of infections since Saturday, it lowered the seven-day moving average by 5 percent to 67,238. The average fell to its lowest point since January 30, though that was during a time when the RIVM was dealing with a significant backlog of uncounted infections.

During the previous calendar week, 57.6 percent of those tested for the infection by the GGD received a positive diagnosis. About 833,000 people were tested during that time, down from nearly 978,000 the previous week.

The three cities with the most new infections in the latest data were Amsterdam (2,984), Utrecht (1,692), and Rotterdam (1,658). Amsterdam's total was about 14 percent above its average. The other two cities posted totals less than five percent below average.