Measures taken to combat the spread of coronavirus in the Netherlands will materialise in the coming week, says Jaco Wallinga from the RIVM. Wallinga is responsible for analysing possible scenarios at the institute.
Wallinga notes that we might already be able to see the effect of the measures – but more will be known later this week. Data is based mainly on the number of hospital admissions, since the official number of patients infected with the virus does not necessarily cover all infected patients (not everyone is being tested), according to the NOS.
In regards to hospital admissions, Wallinga says that the entire process of people getting infected, getting sick, calling the doctor then going to the hospital takes around two weeks.
Thus, the RIVM can only examine the effects of the measures first measure (no shaking hands) now. More data will likely follow next week as well, since the closing of workplaces was only implemented just over a week ago (March 12).
Better numbers
Interestingly, RTL Nieuws reported that 405 COVID-19 patients in the Netherlands are in intensive care units- 51 more than yesterday. However, the rate at which this number is increasing is less (the previous number reported was 73 in the span of 24 hours). It should be noted that it is not yet clear how many people have been discharged or have died so this data is speculative.
Volgens Diederik Gommers van de Nederlandse Vereniging voor Intensive Care liggen er nu 405 patiënten op de IC, dat is een toename van 51 patiënten. Dat is net iets minder dan de afgelopen twee dagen. Voorspelling eind komende week: tussen 500 en 1000 patiënten.
— Jildou van Opzeeland (@Jilnow) March 22, 2020
But for the time being, this is good news- as it means the number of beds are sufficient for patients in intensive care, and it also means that people are getting better. More will be known in the coming week.
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