Covid infections remain above 41,000; Positivity rate climbs above 59%

The RIVM said that 41,216 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus between Wednesday and Thursday morning, the second consecutive day the figure was over 41,000. The figures showed the possibility that diagnosed infections could rise with the reopening of coronavirus testing centers that were closed during the heavy storms last week.

Still, the seven-day moving average fell to 38,970, the lowest the average has been since mid-January. The figure fell by 38 percent just in the past week. The three cities with the most new infections were Amsterdam (1,984), Groningen (1,159), and Utrecht (1,095). Groningen's total was nearly double its average, and Amsterdam's figure was a fourth above average.

About 59.6 percent of those tested by the GGD between February 16-22 received a positive diagnosis. That figure has been slowly rising for several days. The positivity rate was 57.1 percent a week ago. Daily testing figures appeared to be on the rise again, though the GGD tested an average of 63,200 people per day during the seven-day period ending on Tuesday. That was 41 percent lower than the previous week.

Hospitals in the Netherlands were treating 1,555 people with Covid-19 on Thursday afternoon, down 1 percent in a day after accounting for new admissions, discharges, and deaths. The total has gone down about 2 percent in a week. A similar decrease would take the number of patients in active care to 1,525.

The current tally includes 163 people in intensive care units, the same as on Monday. That figure remained at an 18-week low. The other 1,392 patients were in regular care wards, a net decrease of 19.

Hospitals admitted 162 patients with the coronavirus disease during the previous 24 hours, including 17 sent directly to intensive care. On average, hospitals took on 175 Covid-19 patients each of the past seven days, 10 percent fewer than the previous week.