New Covid hospitalizations at 6-week low; Infections near 8-week low

Hospitals in the Netherlands admitted 99 people with Covid-19 between Saturday and Sunday afternoon. That was the lowest number of new patients admitted in a 24-hour period since January 17. On average, hospitals admitted 158 new Covid-19 patients each of the past seven days, reflecting a 16 percent weekly drop that brought the figure to its lowest level since the end of last month.

There were 1,359 patients with the disease in treatment on Sunday, 39 fewer than on Saturday after accounting for the new admissions, discharges and deaths. The total has fallen by 12 percent in a week. A similar decrease would bring it to 1,200.

The patient total included 1,190 patients in regular care. Even after 87 new regular care patients were admitted in the past day, the total fell by 39 overall. The other 169 patients were in intensive care, the same as on Saturday. That also accounts for 12 new ICU admissions.

The RIVM said that 27,438 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus between Saturday and Sunday morning. That was the lowest single-day total in nearly eight weeks. It brought the seven-day moving average down to 35,920, which was 28 percent lower than the last weekend.

Nearly 62 percent of those tested by the GGD between February 19-25 were given a positive diagnosis. That positivity rate has been steadily rising for about a week. About 57,000 people were tested each day during that time, the lowest testing figures since the end of December and beginning of January.

The three cities with the most new infections in the latest data were Amsterdam (1,280), Utrecht (939), and Groningen (683). Amsterdam’s total was about 13 percent below average, and Utrecht’s figure was 10 percent below its mean. Groningen’s total was almost even with the average there.