Daily coronavirus tally nears 6,600; More Covid patients moved into ICU

The number of new coronavirus infections reported in the Netherlands on Wednesday reached 6,589, marking the eighth consecutive time where the daily tally was higher than the seven day rolling average. Additionally, 36 patients with Covid-19 were moved into intensive care during the past 24 hours, the most in two weeks.

Preliminary data from public health agency RIVM put the rolling average of SARS-CoV-2 infections at 6,411. So far this week, 19,910 people have tested positive for the infection, up 46 percent compared to last week.

For the first time since Nov. 21, over 400 residents of Amsterdam were revealed to have tested positive for the virus. The capital city's tally of 416 was 39 percent higher compared to last Wednesday. New infections in Rotterdam dropped 24 percent to 216, and The Hague posted a total of 140, reflecting a five percent decrease.

With the second wave of coronavirus infections having only briefly abated during the first two weeks of November, it is expected that the second wave of Covid-19 hospital patients will exceed that of the first wave, said Ernst Kuipers, the head of the Dutch intensive care providers network. "The number of admissions decreased, but stabilized at the end of November. And now it's gradually going up again," he said during a committee meeting in Parliament on Wednesday.

The rolling average of daily Covid-19 hospital admissions of 177 was nearly 4.5-times the figure he and the government believe to be within the capacity of the healthcare system. In fact, 194 people were admitted into regular care over the past day, according to data from patient office LCPS.

Kuipers also agrees that the number of intensive care admissions should be no higher than 10. During the 24-hour period leading into Wednesday afternoon, intensive care units took on 36 more patients with the coronavirus disease. That figure was the highest since November 25, and raised the rolling average to 26.

Still, hospitals reported a net decrease of 16 coronavirus patients for a total of 1,684. That included 1,211 patients in regular care, down 25, and 473 in intensive care, an increase of nine.

According to the RIVM, another 66 people died from Covid-19, freezing the rolling average at 49. To date, 9,841 people are known to have died from the disease, out of 576,965 who have tested positive for the viral infection.