A new study which promises to reveal how many people have antibodies for the novel coronavirus is set to be launched over the course of the next several months, Dutch public health agency RIVM announced on Monday.
"In the coming months, RIVM will measure antibodies in the blood over several rounds of research," a statement announcing the study reads. "With the results, RIVM aims to learn more about the spread of the virus and about the development of herd immunity in all age groups."
The measures in place to curb the spread of coronavirus Covid-19 will be extended until at least April 28, Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced in a press conference on Tuesday evening, after meeting with experts, advisers and the Ministerial Crisis Management Team. During this time schools, daycare facilities, restaurants, museums, and other contact-heavy businesses will remain closed.
Some 903 people were being treated in the intensive care units of Dutch medical centers as confirmed Covid-19 patients who tested positive for coronavirus. Another 50 were receiving treatment for similar symptoms, suspected of having the virus but who were not definitively diagnosed, according to figures released on Sunday morning.
The availability of beds in intensive care units at Dutch hospitals fell further on Friday, with 873 placements in ICUs now occupied by Covid-19 patients. There was an increase of about 15.5 percent from Thursday's total, with 118 more patients admitted into an ICU in the 24-hour period.
A total of 761 coronavirus patients were being treated in intensive care units in the Netherlands as of Thursday, up 18 percent from 644 on Wednesday, according to figures released by the association for intensive care NVIC. There are "few" beds available for new patients, the association said.
The number of available beds in ICU went from "sufficient" to "few" on Tuesday.
Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health asked health institute RIVM to look into other available coronavirus tests in order to increase the Netherlands' testing capacity, he said in a letter to parliament. He also said that around 20 thousand former and retired healthcare workers have volunteered to return to the sector to help with the Covid-19 crisis.
Medical masks seem to be a new hot commodity in the criminal world. Recently the police arrested two people in Dordrecht for trying to scam hospitals into buying non-existent masks for high amounts. And masks were stolen from a care institution in Putten.
Last week, the police received reports from multiple Dutch hospitals saying they were being offered a large batch of medical masks, for which they had to pay millions of euros. The police immediately suspected a scam and started an investigation.
Philips announced that it is stepping up the production of medical equipment that can be used in the fight against the coronavirus, such as respirators, X-ray, and CT scanners. The company plans to double its production of respiratory equipment in the next eight weeks, and even have it quadrupled in the third quarter, the company said.
After months of gloomy weather and winter storms, the Netherlands finally started a weekend bathed in sunshine. The timing could not have been worse: The country is no exception to the coronavirus pandemic, with politicians and health officials repeatedly telling everyone to stay home as much as possible and maintain social distance while out on the street.
A delivery of 690 thousand medical masks arrived at Schiphol Airport on Saturday, the first tranche of millions ordered by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport from organizations in China. The ministry said it also secured another 200 thousand masks domestically, but ran into a snag to take possession of even more when some Dutch businesses tried to charge extortionate prices for them.
Another 534 people in the Netherlands were diagnosed with coronavirus since Thursday, which took the country's total number of infected people to 2,994. Thirty of those patients died since Thursday, meaning that 106 people with coronavirus have died in the Netherlands, public health agency RIVM said on Friday.
Politicians in The Hague were surprised by Bruno Bruins' resignation as Minister for Medical Care. Many complimented him on his hard work and wished him well and good recovery.
Bruno Bruins, one of the most present voices in the Netherlands during the ongoing coronavirus crisis, asked to be released from his post as the Minister of Healthcare on Thursday. The previous evening, Bruins collapsed from exhaustion while standing at the podium in the lower house of parliament during a debate on the country's preparedness.
Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health is working on a new law that will put an end to non-disclosure agreements in healthcare. His legislative proposal will make it impossible for care providers to force patients or surviving relatives to remain silent about errors in their or their loved ones' care, NOS reports.
The growing severity of coronavirus in the Netherlands is continuing to rattle investors, and taking a toll on the country's businesses. By the end of trading on Friday, the AEX Index at Euronext Amsterdam closed 3.9 percent lower than a day earlier, and 15.6 percent down from the record high of 629.23 set on Valentine's Day.
All residents of the Noord-Brabant province were advised to stay home if they have symptoms of a cold, a cough, or a fever, health agency RIVM said on Friday. The warning came after it emerged that the province is the hardest hit of the Netherlands, with 34 of the country's 128 positive coronavirus cases residing in municipalities there, an NL Times analysis of RIVM statistics shows.
RISE Labs - the Netherlands' first so-called body broker - is promoting the donation of one's body to science after death as a "cheap alternative to a funeral" which "saves your relatives costs". This body broker, which trades in the body parts of people who made their body available to science after death, is operating in a legally gray area in the Netherlands, Nieuwsuur reports based on its own research.
The Dutch government will pay compensation to victims who faced violence and sexual abuse while under the care of youth care, sources confirmed to NOS. Ministers Hugo de Jonge of Public Health and Sander Dekker for Legal Protection already offered the government's apologies for what happened to these victims.
The Dutch government wants to stop surgeries carried out in the Netherlands to restore the hymen of women and girls because such operations fall under harmful practices that do not fit with the norms and values of Dutch society. The government also plans to put down in law that child marriages conducted abroad will no longer be recognized in the Netherlands, NOS reports.
Lighting fireworks over New Year's is a tradition that needs to change, CDA Minister Hugo De Jonge of Public Health said on television program Jinek on RTL 4 on Monday. Earlier in the day it became clear that a majority in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, now supports a partial ban on consumers' fireworks.
The Netherlands must improve its care for children and adolescents with eating disorder, according to advice from K-EET, a group of pediatricians and psychiatrists, to Minster Hugo de Jonge of Public Health. The group wants a structural improvement in care for anorexia patients in particular, NOS reports.
The Dutch cabinet is considering a reversal of its policy of decentralizing youth care services following a harshly critical report from the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate. The report, produced with the Ministry of Justice and Security, said that staffing levels in the sector are far too low making it difficult or impossible for families to get help in dealing with either complex issues, or a multitude of issues.
Sven Romkes from Assen managed to just get a spot with his wheelchair in a packed train from Almere station to the north on Tuesday evening. But two young men decided they'd rather have his spot. They picked him up, wheelchair and all, and carried him off the train. Romkes was left on the platform, watching the intercity train to Leeuwarden leave without him, De Stentor reports.
Dozens of doctors, professors and other scientists called on the Dutch government to give more attention to preventative measures against dementia. A strong commitment to prevention can lead to a significant decrease in new patients, they said in an open letter addressed to Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health and published by NRC.
