Coronavirus average falls for 14th straight day to lowest point in weeks

People in the Netherlands tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus 35,043 times between Thursday and Friday morning. That lowered the national moving average for the 14th consecutive day. The seven-day average stood at 38,559, still about 28 percent lower compared to a week earlier.

The three largest cities in the Netherlands represented the most new infections per municipality, but all three posted totals lower than their respective average. In Amsterdam, 1,439 people tested positive. The moving average there fell 30 percent in a week to 1,574. Rotterdam recorded 1,073 infections against its average of 1,083, while residents of The Hague tested positive 862 times. The average there was 965, down a fourth in a week.

Testing results from the GGD showed that people were persistently testing positive between 65 and 70 percent of the time. An estimated 66.5 percent of tests came back positive between March 17-23. During that time, 55,000 people were tested daily, down from 78,300 the previous week.

The basic reproduction (R) value fell slightly to 0.86. That means that 100 people contagious with the virus on March 7 infected 86 others, who then passed the coronavirus on to another 74 individuals. They then infected 64 people. An R-value below 1.00 is a sign that infection levels are expected to continue falling.

Hospitals in the Netherlands were treating 1,997 people with Covid-19, according to the LCPS. The organization monitors hospital overcrowding, and counts all patients infected with the coronavirus in their statistics. This is because the patients are required to be isolated, straining hospital resources.

The total of 1,997 reflected a 1 percent increase compared to last Friday afternoon. A similar increase could put the total near 2,020.

There were 143 patients in intensive care units, a net decrease of four since Thursday afternoon. The ICU total has held below 200 for 44 days, according to the LCPS. Friday’s figure was relatively close to a five-month low. The other 1,854 patients were in regular care wards, a net increase of 28 after accounting for new patient admissions, discharges, and deaths.

Dutch hospitals admitted 240 patients with the disease since Thursday afternoon, including 18 sent to intensive care units. That brought the seven-day average down to 242, about 6 percent lower than a week earlier.