The omikron variant of the coronavirus is raging through our country. Between yesterday morning and today, 24,590 positive results of corona tests have been registered. Never before have there been so many positive tests in one day. RIVM expects the increase to continue in the coming days, a spokesperson confirmed to this site. A bright spot is that there is no increase in the number of hospital patients, although there are fears that this will change in mid-January.
In total, there are now 1,634 corona patients in hospitals with Covid-19, the disease caused by the corona virus. That is 59 less than yesterday, and thus the lowest number in almost two months.
Still, experts are concerned about the large increase in the number of infections. Although Omikron is less pathogenic, it can still put considerable pressure on healthcare in the long run.
OMT response: ‘Peak still difficult to predict’
The big question is how far the number of cases can increase. That depends, among other things, on the measures taken by the cabinet, says Marion Koopmans, virologist at the Erasmus Medical Center and member of the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) that advises the cabinet.
Koopmans will not comment on whether the measures should be tightened up or whether the existing measures should remain in force for longer. “We see that omikron is spreading despite the measures, so the number of cases will increase anyway. I cannot anticipate the measures, that is a question that needs advice from the OMT.”
As for a possible increase in the number of hospital admissions, Koopmans says: “The RIVM models predict that hospitals will reach a peak in their occupation at the end of January or early February. It is difficult to predict exactly when that peak will occur. That’s why we look at countries that are slightly ahead of us, such as England. There you see a sharp increase in hospital figures. That is why it has also been advised in the Netherlands to take stricter measures.”
Hospitals
There are currently 449 corona patients in intensive care, which is 15 fewer than a day earlier. The last time there were so few people in the ICUs was a month and a half ago. In the nursing wards, the number of corona patients fell by 44 to 1,185 in the past 24 hours.
In the past 24 hours, 13 new corona patients were admitted to the ICUs. Such a low influx has not occurred since the end of October. 147 new patients were brought into the nursing wards.
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Public holidays
The sudden increase in the number of infections is probably related to the holidays, when many families and groups of friends gathered at home. The old infection record dates from November 24, when 23,713 infections came to light in one day. On November 18, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) reported 23,587 positive tests. On December 2 and December 5, just over 23,000 new cases were added. On December 6, there were last more than 20,000 positive tests.
In the past seven days, RIVM registered 122,347 positive tests. That is the highest weekly total since December 12. On a weekly basis, that number has increased by 41 percent. That is the largest increase since the end of November.
Expectation LCPS
Although the current high infection rates are not yet visible in the admission figures, the National Coordination Center for Patient Distribution (LCPS) does expect that to change. “The effects of this on hospital figures are still unclear, but the influx of new patients is expected to increase again in mid-January,” the hospital organization said.
According to de Volkskrant Nine of the fifteen newly registered corona patients who were admitted to Radboudumc in Nijmegen last week were infected with the omikron variant. There are also at least four patients with an omikron infection in the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam. This makes it clear that the wave of omikron patients in hospitals has also started in the Netherlands, the newspaper states.
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Nursing wards bottleneck
The omikron wave will probably look different in hospitals than the previous waves. No longer the intensive care unit, but the nursing wards will become the biggest bottleneck. At least it seems that way, now that hospital admissions are rising sharply in countries where omikron has had a foothold for some time, but the number of patients in intensive care remains limited for the time being.
That is, without a doubt, good news, says Chantal Bleeker-Rovers, professor of infectious disease outbreaks at Radboudumc. “Of course we have many more nursing beds in the Netherlands than IC beds, and also many more nurses who can provide care for non-IC patients, so that offers more flexibility and space to receive these patients.”
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Spreading patients
In order to spread the pressure on hospitals as much as possible, corona patients can be divided over different regions. This has become less and less necessary in recent days. Yesterday 3 people were moved to another region in the Netherlands, Monday 5 and Sunday 6.
Recently, patients have also been transferred to German hospitals to relieve the pressure on care in our country. There are now 10 Dutch corona patients.
Omikron in Cities
Amsterdam had 2264 positive tests in the past 24 hours. Never before has a Dutch municipality had so many positive tests in one day. There were 2659 positive tests in the Amsterdam-Amstelland safety region, which is a record for the regions.
In Rotterdam there were 1,267 positive tests and in Utrecht 882 residents were told that they had the virus. Then follow The Hague (658) and Groningen (391). Only on Ameland and Schiermonnikoog no one tested positive.
2 out of 3 tested positive fully vaccinated
About two in three people who tested positive for the coronavirus last month had been fully vaccinated. That is more than the 50 percent reported by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) last week. According to the institute, the figures have changed because children aged 11 and under are no longer included in the tables. After all, most of them can’t get a vaccine yet.
The total number of positive tests also decreased when children are not included. Last week, just before the turn of the year, RIVM reported 417,552 positive tests in December. A week later, there are 398,834. Excluding the young children, the number of unvaccinated tested positive fell from 151,287 to 94,162.
The number of fully vaccinated people who tested positive in December rose from 159,801 to 192,019 last week. These people received their only Janssen shot at least four weeks ago, or the last shot with one of the other vaccines at least two weeks ago. Booster shots and additional dose are not yet included.
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