Dutch coronavirus infections surge towards 7,000; Weekly total up 12%
For the first time since October, the weekly number of coronavirus infections went up instead of down. At this rate, Christmas might be in jeopardy.
Public health agency RIVM reported 6,814 new SARS-CoV-2 infections on Sunday, the highest number of single-day cases since November 6. That brings the total number of cases this week to 38,592, an 11.7 percent increase compared to last week.
The recent trends in infections have caused concern over the upcoming holidays. Earlier on Sunday, virologist Menno de Jong said that easing restrictions for Christmas would be ill-advised.
The number of added infections on Sunday reflected a four percent increase versus the previous day and a 21 percent increase compared to last Sunday. The average number of new daily cases was 5,513 for the past week.
The RIVM reported a rise in the number of Covid-19 patients being treated in hospitals. These numbers might be subject to change as hospital discharges happen more slowly on the weekends.
As of Sunday afternoon, the total number of patients was 1,641, up 39 compared to the previous day. This reflected a 4.7 percent decrease since last week. Among the patients, 1,172 were being treated in regular care, a net increase of 42, and 469 were in intensive care, down three compared to Friday. These new numbers pushed the weekly projection up as well. Taking Sunday’s rate into account, we could expect the total number of Covid patients to be around 1,600 next week.
160 new patients were admitted to regular care facilities, and 21 patients were moved into the ICU.
Amsterdam (350) and Rotterdam (213) were the two cities with the highest number of infections. In Amsterdam, the numbers were up by two percent compared to Friday and 21 percent compared to last week. In Rotterdam, the numbers reflected a 37 percent increase versus Friday, but a 32 percent decrease compared to the previous week.
Additionally, Almere saw an unexpected spike in infections. On Sunday, the city reported 154 new coronavirus cases, compared to the 62 reported on Friday.
RIVM reports that on Sunday, 25 covid-related deaths were registered. This was the same number as last Sunday. On average, the number of daily deaths in the past week was 49.
According to the nonprofit organization NICE, 25,753 patients have been treated in regular facilities and 5,665 in intensive care facilities so far. An estimated 5,049 patients have died of Covid while in treatment.
