Ten straight drops in Covid-19 hospitalizations; Coronavirus deaths near 2,650

At least 68 people who tested positive for coronavirus were admitted into hospitals in the Netherlands on Friday, and 117 were admitted a day earlier, preliminary data from public health agency RIVM showed. The figures represent ten straight days with a drop in new hospitalizations after 495 were admitted on March 31.

Including Friday's early total, 189 more people with coronavirus were recorded by the RIVM as needing hospital care stretching back the last few weeks.

To date, some 24,413 have tested positive for the virus, of which 2,643 have died. The increase of 132 known fatal outcomes includes 43 from Friday. If that figure holds, it will be the fourth straight day were fewer deaths linked to coronavirus are recorded.

The increase of 1,316 people testing positive comes as more people receive tests in the Netherlands. The focus is still on healthcare workers, elderly patients, and patients with weakened health. By Friday, nearly 116 thousand tests for coronavirus had been administered. Between five and six thousand tests were being processed each day. This figure was not yet updated on Saturday.

There were 1,384 patients listed in intensive care on Friday evening, 33 fewer than the previous day. The total number of patients included 58 Dutch cases being treated in German hospitals.

"Fortunately, we are seeing an increasing number of patients who have recovered enough to leave the ICU," said Ernst Kuipers, the director of acute care coordination in the Netherlands. Since the end of February, 164 Covid-19 patients in ICU have been treated and released, while 379 have died.

"We are at a stable high level," Kuipers said. Even though the country is at its apparent plateau of coronavirus cases in ICU, he wants hospitals to also start giving focus to resuming care for patients without coronavirus-related ailments.