Dutch Covid infections fall 22% to lowest point in 4 weeks; Hospital total declining

The number of new coronavirus infections diagnosed in the Netherlands over the past seven days fell to the lowest point in four weeks, the Dutch public health institute RIVM said on Tuesday. The figure includes a sharp reduction in infections reported at nursing homes. At the same time, the number of patients in hospital care with Covid-19 fell by nearly 5 percent. Hospitalizations linked to Covid-19 rose by one organization's method, but fell by another.

A total of 17,623 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in the seven-day period ending on Tuesday morning. That was down 22 percent compared to the previous week. During the same period, there was an almost equally high 21 percent reduction in the number of people who tested positive in a residential care facility.

Still, it was not clear that the second weekly decrease in a row was due to the end of an autumn wave of the virus. The reduction in the number of diagnosed coronavirus infections also covers a portion of the autumn school vacation period. The north of the country started the one-week holiday on 15 October, while the rest of the country began their break after classrooms let out this past Friday. That may be linked to the 19 percent decrease in people who visited a GGD facility to get tested. About 23,200 people were tested at a GGD location during the last calendar week. Over six months ago, the government stopped referring people with a positive self-test to the GGD for a confirmation from a proper lab.

New variants observed more frequently

Although the BA.5 Omicron subvariants have remained the dominant strain in the Netherlands since June, the future is more uncertain, the RIVM said. At least six subvariants BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5 are circulating in the Netherlands. "After initially the BA.2.75 and BA.4.6 Omicron subvariants increased in share in the germination surveillance, BF.7 increased strongly in recent weeks," the RIVM said. "In the short term, the share of BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 appear to be increasing the most."

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said last week that it expects the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 subvariants to be dominant in Europe. There are concerns that BQ.1.1 is more transmissible, and can evade immunity built up from prior infection or vaccination. It is not believed to be more pathogenic than other variants.

Some positive signs: R-value falls, fewer symptomatic people

The basic reproduction (R) value fell further to 0.91, indicating that 100 people contagious with the coronavirus on 11 October likely infected 91 others. They then passed the virus on to 83 people, who spread the infection to 75 more individuals. When the R-value is below 1.00, it suggests that the number of infections will continue to fall.

Also, during the last calendar week, 5 percent of people surveyed by the RIVM reported having symptoms of Covid-19, down from 5.4 percent the previous week. Out of that group, about 2.3 percent actually tested positive, similar to the week earlier.

At the same time, the RIVM said that sewer surveillance showed signs of an increased presence of coronavirus particles in waste water. That figure ticked up 11 percent by 16 October, and was still rising.

Covid hospital patient total down; Mixed data on hospitalizations

Hospital patient coordinator LCPS said that 1,177 people infected with the coronavirus were in hospitals on Tuesday afternoon, down from 1,234 a week earlier. There were 55 patients in intensive care units, an increase of three since last Tuesday.

On average, 152 patients with the infection were admitted each of the past seven days, including nine sent directly to intensive care. That was down nearly 11 percent compared to the previous week. At that time, 170 patients were admitted daily, with ten sent to the ICU.

Hospital figures from the RIVM, collected by Stichting NICE, were less positive. During the last calendar week, data from NICE showed that 721 people with Covid-19 were admitted into care, a 6 percent increase. The organization also showed intensive care admissions rising from 48 to 51.

In the past, the RIVM and NICE has counted all patients being treated for symptoms of Covid-19, including those admitted for other reasons. The LCPS counts all patients in hospital care who test positive for the coronavirus regardless of symptoms, as it is responsible for monitoring hospital resources and management.

Additionally, the RIVM learned last week of 39 deaths tied to Covid-19, down from 44 the previous week. Such deaths are not required to be reported to the RIVM.