Coronavirus data worsening as positivity rate increases; Covid deaths hit 24-week low

A weekly examination of coronavirus infection data in the Netherlands showed that the situation has continued to worsen, public health agency RIVM said on Tuesday. The number of new infections diagnosed over the past seven days jumped up by 13 percent affecting all age groups and all regions of the country.

On the upside, the RIVM learned of just 171 deaths caused by Covid-19 over the past week. That's a big drop of 23 percent compared to the previous seven day period. It was the lowest total in 24 weeks, the RIVM data showed. At the same time, regular care hospital admissions for Covid-19 rose by six percent to 1,261. Another 317 were admitted into intensive care units, a slight one percent decrease.

Some 51,866 people tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 infection through 10 a.m., the RIVM said. That was nearly six thousand more than a week ago. While the number of new infections went up 13 percent, testing also rose by a bit over six percent.

Data showed that of the over 550 thousand people who scheduled their own coronavirus test with municipal health service GGD, an estimated 8.5 percent tested positive for the viral infection. That was up from 8.1 percent last week, making it the first time that the figure rose for two weeks straight since the end of December.

"The situation is deteriorating in almost all regions," the RIVM wrote. Nearly 300 people per 100 thousand residents tested positive for the viral infection last week. "In six safety regions, more than 350 people per 100,000 inhabitants were reported with a positive coronavirus test result, namely in Zuid-Holland-Zuid, Limburg-Noord, Rotterdam-Rijnmond, Noord-Holland-Noord, Zaanstreek-Waterland and Brabant-Zuidoost."

The age group with the biggest increase in infections were those in their seventies, which saw a jump of 19 percent, followed by adults from 18 to 24. The latter continued to be identified as the demographic with the most infections per capita, at 422 per 100 thousand. The vaccination program was identified as the reason the number of infections ticked up by just 5 percent among those over the age of 80 instead of far more.

"There promises to be some beautiful spring days. If everyone adheres to the coronavirus rules, fewer people will be infected and measures can be relaxed sooner. So, even when the sun is shining, keep a distance of 1.5 meters from others, stay at home if you have complaints, get tested and wash your hands."

One bright spot amid the mostly negative infection data was that the basic reproduction (R) value fell from 1.11 to 1.07. That means that 100 people contagious with the virus were modeled as having infected 107 others in mid-March. There were an estimated 130 thousand contagious people in the Netherlands as of the most current estimate on March 22.

People have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 infection a total of 1,264,983 times over the past 13 months. That includes 16,509 people who died from Covid-19.