Nearly 8,200 new coronavirus infections; New record puts week total at 53,700

For the sixth time in a week, the Netherlands set a daily record for the number of new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infections with 8,184 reported by public health agency RIVM on Sunday. It brought the total for the week up to 53,707, an increase of 38 percent over the previous Monday-Sunday period.

The week total was just 1,800 fewer than the amount of infections recorded during the entire month of September. A total of 228,234 people have tested positive for the viral infection since the end of February.

The new high mark set on Sunday was also 28 percent higher than last Sunday. Amsterdam (726), Rotterdam (616), and The Hague (345) were the three cities with the most infections, according to the new data. For Amsterdam it reflected a 73 percent increase compared to a week earlier, with Rotterdam rising by 64 percent. Figures in The Hague rose significantly but less dramatically, with that city showing a 26 percent bump.

Some 206 more residents of the Netherlands with the coronavirus disease were admitted to hospitals over the past 24 hours. The death toll in the country rose to 6,751 with the RIVM acknowledging that 15 more deaths were tied to the infection

There were 1,652 patients with Covid-19 being treated in Dutch hospitals on Sunday, an increase of 34 percent in a week. Over the past seven days, the current patient total rose by an average of 4.3 percent daily. If an increase continues at that rate, there would be over 2,200 patients by the end of next week.

The ICU and non-ICU patient total combined for the most Covid-19 patients since May 9. Intensive care patients accounted for 364 of the total, up 12 from Saturday, with another 1,288 outside of the ICU, a rise of 72.

The combined increase of 84 patients was the most since Tuesday. The larger increase could be due to weekend hospital staffing which sometimes increases the time needed to release a patient.

“The larger increase in the number of admitted covid patients in the past 24 hours does not deviate from the trend of recent weeks,” said Ernst Kuipers, the head of the Dutch acute care providers network. “The increase varies from day to day, depending on the number of new patients and the number of discharges from the hospital.”

To date, 3,830 intensive care patients have been treated for the coronavirus disease, including 994 people who lost their lives in the ICU. Another 2,233 were eventually discharged.

At least 13,852 people have been hospitalized for Covid-19 since the end of February.