Covid-19 alert level increases as infections grow by 24%; Hospital total at 6-month high

Coronavirus infections diagnosed in the Netherlands jumped to their highest point in 11 weeks, and waste water surveillance suggested the new wave of infections will continue to worsen, the RIVM said on Tuesday. Hospital patients who tested positive for the virus also reached the highest level in almost six months. With the situation deteriorating, the RIVM recommended that the government issue a stricter coronavirus warning level.

The RIVM suggested moving the Coronavirus Thermometer from Level 1 to Level 2. This indicates, "Limited pressure on the healthcare system and society, but increasedrisks for vulnerable groups can be expected." The first level indicates little impact from the pandemic. Level 3 indicates a high impact on society, while the most severe Level 4 is to be used when the healthcare sector and society is under intense pressure, with the burden "noticeable to everyone."

Health Minister Ernst Kuipers complied with the RIVM's recommendation soon after the report was released on Tuesday afternoon. "The infections are continuing to increase.," he wrote on Twitter. He asked that people continue to wash their hands frequently, cough or sneeze into an elbow, stay home if symptomatic, and test for the coronavirus when exhibiting Covid-19 symptoms. "For the vulnerable: get the repeat jab to maintain your protection."

No new restrictions on society were announced with the change.

Coronavirus infections increasing fast

Some 23,693 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus during the seven-day period that ended on Tuesday morning, the RIVM said. That was an increase of 24 percent in a week, which pushed the figure to its highest point since the week ending 26 July. "The increase is visible everywhere. In nursing homes, the number of residents with a positive coronavirus test rose by 23% last week," the health institute stated.

The total number of known infections has doubled in two weeks, and has tripled compared to five weeks ago. Weekly infections have been on the rise consistently since the start of September. The basic reproduction (R) value remained at a high 1.13 on 27 September, indicating that 100 people contagious with the coronavirus passed it on to 113 others, who then infected another 128.

The number of infections does not necessarily paint a clear picture, as the government stopped telling people to confirm a positive self-test with an official test at the GGD health centers. Another indicator of the situation is sewage surveillance. Results of this take a week to process. For the calendar week ending on 2 October, the number of coronavirus particles rose by 75 percent compared to the previous week. The national average continued to rise during the first full week of October.

Waste water analysis showed that the BA.5 Omicron sub variant remained the most common, and BA.4 was becoming more common. Specifically, the RIVM said that, "BA.2.75 and BA.4.6 are currently slowly increasing their share in germ surveillance. Both BA.4.6 and BA 2.75, as some sub-variants of BA.5, appear to be able to more easily evade the built-up defense against SARS-CoV-2 (by vaccination or infection) due to small specific changes in the spike protein."

The number of deaths linked to Covid-19 which were reported to the RIVM nearly doubled from 20 to 39 in a week. There is no obligation to report the deaths to the RIVM.

Hospital patient total continues to rise

Meanwhile, hospitals in the Netherlands were treating 1,160 patients on Tuesday who were infected with the coronavirus, the most since 19 April. That figure increased by a third in one week. The patient total in intensive care rose from 33 to 47, while the regular care wards so their figures swell from 840 to 1,113.

The LCPS, which monitors hospital crowding and available healthcare resources, said an average of 156 people with the coronavirus infection entered hospital care each of the past seven days. That includes nine sent directly to intensive care. Patient admissions rose by about 14 percent combined, with ICU admissions nearly doubling in a week. Those averages include 172 new admissions just since Monday afternoon, of whom 15 were admitted to intensive care.

Figures from the LCPS include all hospital patients who test positive for the coronavirus, regardless of the severity of their symptoms. Each patient needs to be isolated from others, which puts a strain on hospital capacity. By contrast, data from intensive care monitor NICE, used by the RIVM, more specifically focuses on those being treated for Covid-19 symptoms.

The RIVM reported that 693 people with Covid-19 were admitted by hospitals from Monday through Sunday. That was also a substantial 24 percent compared to a week earlier. ICU admissions rose from 38 to 41 during the last calendar week.

One year ago, hospitals were treating just under 500 people infected with the coronavirus. That total more than quadrupled by mid-November, peaking at over 2,800 in early December, noted newswire ANP.