New coronavirus infections stays above 11,500; Another 317 admitted to hospitals

Health authorities in the Netherlands said on Friday that another 11,550 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection, roughly the same as a day earlier. The total was four percent lower than a week ago, causing the rolling average do fall slightly to 11,426.

So far this week, 54,636 people have tested positive for the coronavirus infection, about seven percent more than last week, data from health agency RIVM showed. The public health institute also said that 97 more deaths were caused by Covid-19, raising the daily average to 75.

The three cities with the most new infections reported on Friday were led by Amsterdam and Rotterdam with 306, and Almere with 182. The seven-day averages in those cities were 439, 272, and 185, respectively. The daily infection figures among residents in Almere have nearly tripled since December 5.

For the second consecutive day, hospitals in the Netherlands admitted over three hundred new patients with Covid-19. Such a two-day streak has not occurred in at least seven weeks. Between Thursday and Friday afternoon, regular care departments admitted 317 more patients with the coronavirus disease, and moved 41 of their patients into intensive care units.

After accounting for deaths and patient discharges, hospitals were treating 2,297 people with Covid-19 on Friday, a net decrease of five. The intensive care unit total rose by three to 593, and the other 1,704 patients were in regular care, a decrease of eight. The hospitalized total was still 13 percent greater than a week ago, putting the Netherlands on pace to have 2,600 coronavirus patients in hospitals on New Year's Day.

To date, a total of 755,057 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus infection in the Netherlands. Of that group, 10,924 people died from Covid-19.