Most new coronavirus infections since May 7; Double last week’s average

Another 431 people tested positive for a SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus infection, according to preliminary data released on Saturday by public health agency RIVM. That was the largest single-day increase since May 7, and nearly double the average daily number of infections recorded last week.

The figure was also roughly the same as all coronavirus infections registered during the entire first week of July. Nearly two-thirds of Saturday's total was in the Randstad, including 125 cases in the Rotterdam region, and 67 in the greater Amsterdam area, the two cities which intend to make face masks mandatory for people visiting some of the country's busiest districts, shopping streets, and public markets starting on August 5.

There were also 51 cases in and around The Hague and 22 cases were found in the Hollands-Midden region, which encompasses Leiden, part of the coast west of Schiphol Airport, Alphen aan den Rijn and municipalities southeast of there. Some 33 patients were also found in the western and central portion of the Noord-Brabant province, and 22 in the Utrecht area. Nearly 55 thousand people in the Netherlands have tested positive for a SARS-CoV-2 infection since late February, of which just over 6,150 have died.

The latter includes two people who died this week while being treated in intensive care, the latest data from nonprofit organization NICE showed. Some 869 people have died in the ICU from Covid-19, out of 2,951 patients, while 1,900 were discharged from the hospital after a sufficient recovery. The latter rose by four this week.

"The number of COVID patients in hospitals remains stable, with the number of patients in ICU rising slightly," said Ernst Kuipers, the chair of the acute care network in the Netherlands. He concurred with LCPS data that showed that the number of ICU patients with Covid-19 was similar to July's daily average, and was well below figures from early June.

There were 22 patients being treated in intensive care for the coronavirus disease on Saturday, an increase of three since Friday afternoon. Outside of the ICU, hospital departments were treating 67, a reduction of six.