Covid patients in hospital below 1,100; Positive tests drop by 27%

For the first time in a week and a half, there are fewer than 1,100 people in Dutch hospitals with the coronavirus. There were a total of 1,092 on Tuesday, according to the National Coordination Center for Patient Distribution (LCPS). That is 32 patients less than the day before. The RIVM registered 28,019 new coronavirus infections in the past week, 27 percent less than the week before.

The number of admitted coronavirus patients has been fairly stable over the past days after an increase that started at the beginning of June. On June 2, there were 332 people in hospital with the coronavirus. As the number of infections increased, that number steadily rose. That increase now seems to have come to an end, as has the rise in the number of positive tests.

Unlike in earlier phases of the coronavirus pandemic, almost all patients with the coronavirus are in regular nursing wards. According to the latest figures, 46 coronavirus patients are so ill that they need care from the intensive care units. That is two less than on Monday.

The number of new coronavirus cases in the Netherlands is falling again, though the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) stressed that the figures are not exhaustive. The RIVM only registers positive tests from the GGD locations, not self-tests performed at home.

According to the RIVM, the decrease in the number of positive tests “may be partly due to the summer period, when many Dutch people are on holiday.” But the decline can also be seen in nursing homes, and those residents don’t go on vacation, according to the institute. A few weeks ago, the RIVM said that the peak of the summer wave was in sight.

New coronavirus admissions to hospitals are also declining. Last week, 534 people were admitted because of their coronavirus symptoms, the lowest number in four weeks. The week before (after correction), there were 707 admissions. That means that the number of admissions dropped by 24.5 percent. Of the 534 people admitted, 27 went to intensive care, compared to 32 a week earlier.

A new sub-variant of the coronavirus, the Centaurus variant, was diagnosed in one person in the Netherlands but has not yet spread further.

The reproduction number (R-value) dropped to 0.84. The lowest level since April 22. An R-value of 0.84 means an average group of 100 coronavirus patients infects 84 others. They then transmit the virus to 70 others, who then infect about 59 people. There are fewer infections with each step. If that continues, the outbreak may gradually die down.