Over 500 more coronavirus infections; 17,000 since June 29

The number of Netherlands residents diagnosed with a coronavirus infection this week topped three thousand on Saturday, but remained about 21 percent lower than a week ago. Data from public health agency RIVM on Saturday showed that another 508 people tested positive for the virus, bringing the week's total up to 3,095.

While lower compared to a week ago, it still represented about eight times as many infections as a similar period covering the end of June and beginning of July. That spike in infections, nearly 17 thousand since the end of June, was likely to translate into a rise in Covid-19 hospital admissions even though patient totals have largely remained stable this week, said Ernst Kuipers, the head of the Dutch acute care providers network.

"The number of admissions is lagging behind the number of infections. This is primarily because relatively more infections are occurring in younger people," Kuipers said. "The same overall picture can be seen in some other European countries."

There were 173 people being treated in Dutch hospitals for Covid-19 on Saturday, data from patient coordination office LCPS showed. That included 42 intensive care patients, a decrease of one, and 131 patients in other hospital departments, a reduction of two.

Kuipers said that regions with more infections are also where the larger number of hospitalizations are taking place. Since July, the coronavirus hotspots have been in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and the region around The Hague.

Some 3,016 people across the entire country have required an intensive care stay for Covid-19 since late February; 879 of those patients died during treatment. Another 1,952 were treated and later discharged from the hospital.