Coronavirus infections down 29% towards 2022 low; New hospital admissions fall
The number of people who tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus fell to the lowest point since the first full week of the year. Weekly data from the RIVM showed that 222,366 people learned they were infected with the coronavirus during the seven-day period ending Tuesday morning. That total was 29 percent lower compared to the previous week, bringing per capita infections down to 1,264 per 100,000 residents.
Infections per capita fell across all regions and demographics. Drenthe remained the region with the most infections per 100,000 residents, but that total dropped from 2,673 to 1,759, a decrease of over a third. Twente moved up to second place despite reporting a 24 percent decrease to 1,683 infections per capita. Groningen moved from second to third place, showing a 30 percent fall to 1,682 infections per capita.
There was a 49 percent fall in people testing positive who are 18-24 years of age. Those aged 13-17 showed a 42 percent reduction, with a slightly lower reduction among people 25-29. The slightest decrease was reported among those 80 years of age or older. The highest number of infections were diagnosed in people in their fifties, who tested positive 38,700 times last week. Those in their thirties tested positive 37,300 times, while people in their sixties in their twenties each tested positive about 32,000 times.
At the same time, the number of tests conducted by the GGD also fell to its lowest point since the end of October and beginning of November. During the last calendar week, the GGD completed 331,229 coronavirus tests, down 27 percent from nearly 453,000 tests completed the previous week. About 65.4 percent of those tested last week were diagnosed with the infection, compared to 66.2 percent the previous week. The record for a calendar week is 70.0 percent, reached during the first week of March.
The basic reproduction (R) value slipped further, falling from 0.87 to 0.82. That means that 100 people contagious with the coronavirus on March 14 infected 82 others, who then passed the virus on to another 67 individuals. They then infected 55 more people. When the R-value is below 1.00, it indicates that the number of new infections is likely to decrease.
Hospitalizations down 8 percent; ICU cases fall slightly
Figures from the LCPS showed that hospitals admitted 1,594 patients with Covid-19 during the past seven days. That total was 8 percent lower compared to the previous week. That represents the most significant week-on-week decrease since the beginning of the month.
The hospital figures include 107 intensive care admissions since last Tuesday afternoon. That was 2 percent lower than the previous week, when 126 patients with the coronavirus disease were brought to an ICU.
The LCPS figures include all hospitalized patients who test positive for the coronavirus regardless of symptoms. The organization monitors hospital crowding levels, and patients who are placed in isolation strain hospital resources. The RIVM instead uses hospital data from the nonprofit organization NICE. The intensive care monitor only counts those patients being treated for symptoms of the coronavirus disease.
Preliminary figures from NICE showed that 1,471 people with Covid-19 were admitted into hospital care last week. That was 9 percent lower than last week's preliminary total of 1,616, and 19 percent lower than the finalized figure from NICE of 1,825 hospitalizations. The organization has so far counted 118 intensive care admissions, slightly higher than last week's preliminary total, but 9 percent lower than the finalized total of 129.
The number of reported deaths linked to Covid-19 rose last week to 104. A week earlier, the RIVM learned of 95 deaths. There is no obligation to report Covid-19 deaths to the RIVM, and the institute often learns of the deaths long after an individual dies.