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.
Another 93 people reportedly died after testing positive for coronavirus, public health agency RIVM said on Monday, bringing the country's total number of fatal cases to 864. More patients were also admitted to intensive care units through the course of the day, with the total number of known infections in the Netherlands rising to 11,750, an increase of 884 since Sunday.
Passengers on flights from New York will not be subject to extra screenings when they arrive at Schiphol airport. Their temperature will not be measures and they won't be asked about symptoms, a spokesperson for Schiphol said to RTL Nieuws. "That is currently the policy in the Netherlands. That policy is determined by the government, not by Schiphol," the spokesperson said.
New York was hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. Of the over 2 thousand deaths in the country, over 700 happened in New York.
The results of measures taken by the government to curb the spread the coronavirus Covid-19 are starting to show, and they are less effective than public health institute RIVM had hoped. The institute now expects more people to end up in intensive care. "The most positive scenarios from last week will not come true," Jaco Wallinga of the RIVM said to NOS.
Another 132 people in the Netherlands who tested positive for coronavirus died, Dutch public health agency RIVM revealed in updated statistics. The country is now home to 771 people who were being treated for Covid-19 but later passed away, out of a total number of 10,866 people who tested positive for the virus.
Dutch public health agency RIVM said there were 9,762 people who tested positive for coronavirus in the Netherlands on Saturday, an increase of 1,159 over Friday's total. The agency added that 93 more people who tested positive later died, bringing the total number of Dutch fatal cases to 639.
A total of 112 people in the Netherlands died of coronavirus Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, public health institute RIVM said on Friday. This is the highest number of deaths in a single day the Netherlands has seen yet and brings the total number of coronavirus deaths to 546.
The Netherlands now counts a total of 8,603 Covid-19 patients, that is 1,172 more positive tests than on Thursday. A total of 2,500 of these patients were or had been hospitalized.
Security services in the Netherlands have been warning about the dangers of a pandemic like the coronavirus since 2016. In reports by the national coordinator for counterterrorism and security NCTV, the security services warned that the Netherlands does not have enough ICU beds, among other things, NRC reports based on its own research. It seems little was done with this advice.
The public attention given to the number of deaths and infections at the hands of Covid-19 has led to speculation about the impact of the disease on the Netherlands in comparison to in other affected countries. However, experts warn, the tendency to draw conclusions from numbers alone can be misleading.
The number of people who have tested positive in the Netherlands for coronavirus rose by 1,019 to 7,431 in the past 24 hours. Of that total, 434 patients have died, an increase of 78 from statistics release on Wednesday, public health agency RIVM said.
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.
New figures released on Wednesday by public health agency RIVM showed that another 852 people were diagnosed with coronavirus, and 80 more people who tested positive for the virus have died. The Netherlands is now home to 6,412 people in total who have tested positive for the virus, a 15.3 percent increase compared to figures released on Tuesday.
Wednesday's increase in of 852 patients was the highest recorded single-day increase in the Netherlands to date. Nevertheless, the rate of increase fell from the 17.1 percent growth in patients recorded a day earlier.
The measures the Dutch government took to curb the spread of coronavirus Covid-19 seem to be succeeding in "flattening the curve". The infection rate of the outbreak is declining, Jaap van Dissel, director of public health institute RIVM said to parliamentarians on Wednesday. "At least there is a positive trend," he said, NOS reports. Diederik Gommers, chairman of the Dutch association for intensive care NVIC, also updated parliamentarians on the state of affairs in the ICUs.
The decision on whether or not schools will reopen after April 6 will only be made after the results of a crucial study by public health institute RIVM are known, Minister Arie Slob for Primary and Secondary Eduction said on television program Op1. It seems very likely that schools will remain closed, because the RIVM told Nieuwsuur that this study will take six weeks and it started Tuesday.
Another 811 people were diagnosed with coronavirus since Monday, public health agency RIVM said. In the past 24 hours, another 265 people were reportedly hospitalized, and 63 more people died who had previously tested positive.
Since the first person tested positive in late February, a total of 1,495 patients required hospitalization. On Monday evening, the number of patients in intensive care reached 487. The age range of the deceased patients remained between 55 and 97 years of age.
Virologist Alex Friedrich of the University Medical Center in Groningen thinks that the Netherlands should be testing more for the coronavirus Covid-19. The current testing of only risk groups is not enough and he does not understand the claim that there is not enough capacity to do more, Friedrich said in an interview with De Groene Amsterdammer.
The Dutch cabinet introduced three new regulations to fight the spread of coronavirus in the country, after a sunny weekend brought thousands of people to popular outdoor areas, defying the ban on groups of people gathered in one place and the advice that people keep at least a 1.5-meter distance from each other. The new rules include fines when members of the public disregard the regulations, and an order that no more than two people stand together within their 150-centimeter personal space.
Another 545 people in the Netherlands were diagnosed with coronavirus Covid-19, bringing the total diagnoses up to 4,749, public health institute RIVM said on Monday. A total of 213 people have died from the virus, an increase of 34 from Sunday. They range in age from 55 to 97, with an average age of 82.
The Ministerial Crisis Management Committee will be meeting again on Monday evening to discuss whether any further measures need to be taken around coronavirus Covid-19. After that the safety offices of at least 25 different regions will meet in Utrecht to discuss municipal and regional measures, NOS reports.
Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb of Rotterdam wants the government to give municipalities more resources to enforce government measures and advice against the spread of coronavirus Covid-19, he said on Nieuwsuur on Sunday. A contact ban - a prohibition on more than two people being outside together - could be on the table, the mayor said. "It would be a horrendous measure, but if these kinds of calls and measures do not work, this could come into the picture."
Some 43 coronavirus patients died in the Netherlands since Saturday, with the nation now mourning the loss of 179 people, public health agency RIVM said on Sunday. The agency also announced that another 573 tested positive for the virus, pushing the total number of diagnosed patients to 4,204, nearly four-times the number of patients recorded on March 15.
Just one week ago, the total number of patients in the Netherlands was 1,077. By that date, a total of 20 people who tested positive for the virus had died, a figure which has increased by 800 percent in the past seven days.
Thirty more people diagnosed with the coronavirus died in the Netherlands since Friday, raising the death toll to 136. The country's health agency said another 637 people tested positive for the virus, which raises the country's total to 3,631 since testing began in late February.
Patients requiring hospitalization also rose by 193 patients, health agency RIVM said. To date, 836 coronavirus patients were admitted to the hospital since testing started.
Stricter lockdown measures could be introduced in the Netherlands if people do not take the current restrictions and advisories seriously, cautioned public health agency director Jaap van Dissel. At the same time, a total lockdown is unlikely to save the Netherlands from the spread of the coronavirus which has caused a global pandemic, he told Nu.nl.
