Coronavirus infections down 60% from Omicron peak; Hospitalizations down at least 17%

The number of coronavirus infections diagnosed in the Netherlands has dropped by 60 percent since the peak of infections during the wave of infections brought on by the Omicron variant. In fact, infections diagnosed over the past seven days fell to a six-week low, according to the RIVM.

During the two-year pandemic, the health institute has published an official report on the coronavirus pandemic nearly every Tuesday. Through 10 a.m., a total of 245,898 infections were diagnosed, a 21 percent decrease compared to the previous seven-day period.

Just three weeks ago, some 608,529 people tested positive at the peak of the Omicron variant wave. Since then, known infections have fallen by about 60 percent.

As the Omicron variant of the coronavirus spread swiftly through the Netherlands at the beginning of this year, it was children and teens who quickly became infected. However, this past week, people between the ages of 10-19 accounted for about 32,000 infections, down about 40 percent in a week. A similar 35 percent decline was seen in younger children.

The basic reproduction (R) value also fell further to 0.77, meaning 100 people contagious with the coronavirus on February 14 infected 77 others. They then spread the virus to 59 more people, who, in turn, passed it on to another 45. Any R-value below 1.00 indicates the number of infections is falling. The R-value has not been so low since July 24.

Still, about 62.6 percent of people tested by the GGD received a positive diagnosis during the last calendar week. That figure was at 57.6 percent just two weeks ago, and 58.3 percent last Tuesday. The number of people getting tested at a GGD location has also continued to fall, dropping 28 percent in a week to 372,350.

Covid-19 hospitalizations down 17 percent

Figures from patient coordination service LCPS show a strong decrease in hospitalizations, but less dramatic than figures from the RIVM. The LCPS counts all patients with the coronavirus infection because they require isolation, causing increased strain on hospital resources.

Hospitals admitted 1,046 patients with Covid-19 during the past week, the LCPS said, a 17 percent decrease from the previous week. That includes 960 regular care admissions, down from 1,163, and 86 people sent to intensive care, down from 95.

The RIVM uses data from intensive care monitor NICE, which only counts a patient as having Covid-19 if they exhibit serious symptoms of the disease. Additionally, figures from NICE are often revised upward, with the total revealed in last Tuesday’s report jumping up by 11 percent after revisions were applied.

That said, the RIVM used figures from NICE to claim a 26 percent fall in hospitalizations, and a 15 percent drop in intensive care admissions when looking at Tuesday’s rough estimate versus last week’s final figures. When comparing only the rough figures, the data is more inline with the LCPS reporting: 18 percent drop in all Covid-19 hospitalizations, and a 9 percent fall in ICU admissions.

The RIVM learned of 63 deaths caused by Covid-19 this past week, down sharply from 95 reported the previous seven-day period. However, there is no obligation to report deaths caused by the coronavirus disease to the RIVM. The agency often receives such notifications at a later date.