Coronavirus infections rising; Hospital cases tick up but stable

There were 106 people being treated in Dutch hospitals for respiratory illness Covid-19 on Thursday, an increase of four compared to the previous day. The total included 15 patients in the intensive care units, a decrease of two.

Outside of the ICU, hospital departments were treating 91 people for the coronavirus disease, an increase of six. Hospital admissions were still stable, as they have been for a few weeks, said Ernst Kuipers, the head of the acute care providers network in the Netherlands.

However that situation could possibly change in the next 14 days. "The reported increase in the number of new infections makes it plausible that the number of admissions will increase in the next two weeks. If we manage to curb the current trend in the number of new infections, that increase in the number of hospital admissions will remain limited," Kuipers said.

If data released on Thursday was any indication, the Netherlands could see up to a 15 percent rise in infections this week. Figures from last week showed that 987 people in the Netherlands tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for Covid-19. That was nearly the same amount as during the first two weeks of July combined.

On Thursday, early data published by public health agency RIVM showed at least 163 more people tested positive for the virus in results obtained in the past 24, according to broadcaster NOS. That total could rise further, according to figures from the government's Coronavirus Dashboard. On average, 141 people tested positive each day last week, the RIVM said.

Those in the age range of 20 to 40 represented the highest number of positive cases on Thursday, about half of the full total, according to the Dashboardl. Some 92 positive tests were from people tested in Zuid-Holland, and 32 were from Noord-Holland, reported NOS.