The RIVM has released its weekly coronavirus figures from July 20 to July 27. The number of infections has decreased dramatically compared to the previous week.
Over the past week, the RIVM reported 37,343 new infections in the Netherlands. This is a significant decrease compared to the previous week’s number of 69,731 new infections. The percentage of positive tests decreased to 13,6% compared to 14.1% the week before.
Deaths
The number of patients who have died from COVID-19-related complications has gone up. This week, 21 people passed away, compared to 14 people the previous week.
Hospitalisations
Hospitalisations, as well as the number of admissions to the ICU, have also increased. The past week saw 423 new admissions to the nursing ward and 115 new patients in the ICU. The week before, there were 205 and 31, respectively. This marks a doubling of the number of patients admitted to hospital.
New travel advice
From today onwards, all EU countries are considered yellow or green, rather than orange, by the Dutch government. The government’s decision to reclassify previous red countries, such as Spain, means that the requirement for “necessary” travel is gone and travelling to the Netherlands will be easier.
However, Dutch travel advice differs from that of the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). If you are planning on travelling from the Netherlands, always check the travel restriction from your destination country.
The change to the colour coding system will be in effect until August 8 whereafter the rules for returning to the Netherlands will tighten.
More than 50% of adults in the Netherlands are fully vaccinated
The Dutch vaccination schedule is continuing at full speed with 56,3% of adults being fully vaxxed. In addition, 83% have already had their first jab and are in line for their second.
Vaccine fraud in the Netherlands
While the number of vaccinated adults is increasing, GGDs have also discovered a new kind of vaccine fraud that allows people to leave the site with proof of vaccination — without having received their jab.
After discovering the slip, vaccination sites have implemented new measures to avoid fraud.
AstraZeneca vaccines are going in the bin
Across the country, Dutch doctors are forced to throw away tens of thousands of AstraZeneca vaccines. After the vaccine was phased out of the Netherlands’ vaccination scheme, unused doses have been sitting in the fridge at your local GPs.
Now, Dutch doctors are frustrated in the face of what they see as an enormous waste and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport have called it “a real shame.” The doses cannot be delivered to other countries or otherwise utilised.
Follow DutchReview on Facebook for the latest news and coronavirus updates.
Feature Image: Official US Navy Page/Wikimedia Commons/CC2.0
