Covid hospitalizations jumped 60% in last week of 2022; Hospital total at 8-week high

A total of 623 people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus entered hospital care in the Netherlands during the final calendar week of 2022, according to the RIVM. The number of new hospitalizations rose by nearly 60 percent compared to the previous week, the Dutch public health institute said on Tuesday in its regular weekly update on the situation. Figures from the RIVM showed that 63 of patients admitted last week were sent to an intensive care unit, up from 42 the previous week.

Out of the 623 admissions, 527 were first taken to the hospital due to the severity of Covid-19 symptoms. The other 96 people were initially admitted for other reasons.

Hospitals were treating 819 patients with Covid-19 on Tuesday afternoon, the most at one time since November 8. The patient total has been steadily rising since dipping to a low point of 460 on December 14, according to data from patient coordination service LCPS.

During the seven-day period ending on Tuesday, the LCPS said hospitals were admitting an average of 145 new coronavirus patients daily. That reflects a smaller 8 percent increase, though the LCPS reported a more significant increase the week prior. The organization's data is typically different from the RIVM, as their criteria, time period analyzed, and data collection methods are not the same.

Despite the overall increase in hospitalizations, the percentage of people reporting symptoms of Covid-19 fell a bit. Some 6.7 percent of people surveyed by the RIVM during the last calendar week of 2022 said they had symptoms of the coronavirus disease, down from 7.3 percent the previous week. More recently, 1.8 percent of surveyed respondents tested positive for the viral infection, up slightly from 1.7 percent. That includes people who self-reported the results of a self-test kit.

Officially, 6,245 people tested positive for the coronavirus infection since last Tuesday morning. That was 500 fewer than the previous week, the RIVM said. Those figures only include people who tested positive at a GGD facility or other authorized locations. Just 5,404 coronavirus tests were completed at the GGD during the last calendar week, down from 7,891 the week before.

Sewage surveillance did show an increase in coronavirus particles of over 31 percent during the week ending on Christmas Day. That is the continuation of a trend which started over a month ago.

The basic reproduction (R) number fell significantly in mid-December, from 1.04 to 0.86. That means that 100 people contagious with the coronavirus on December 20 likely infected 86 others, who then went spread the virus to 74 more people. They then gave the coronavirus to 64 people. When the figure is below 1.00, it indicates a likelihood that fewer people will be infected with the virus on a week-to-week basis.