The RIVM has released its weekly coronavirus figures for the period of February 24 to March 2. The number of infections has risen slightly compared to the previous week.
The vaccination programme has ramped up and care homes have seen a drop in infections as a result. Also, protests against current measures are being held today by members of the hospitality sector and sex workers.
A press conference will be held on Monday, March 8. All current measures will remain in place until at least March 15.
New number of infections
Over the past week, the RIVM reported 31,984 new infections in the Netherlands. This is an increase compared to the previous week’s number of 29,977 new infections.
Deaths
The number of patients who have died from COVID-19-related complications has slightly decreased. This week 309 people passed away, compared to 418 people the previous week.
Hospitalisations
Hospitalisations are going down, however, the number of admissions to the ICU has gone down. The past week saw 1,133 new admissions to the nursing ward and 224 new patients in the ICU. The week before, there were 1,140 and 240, respectively.
The Dutch government remains concerned over the new variants of coronavirus as well as the third wave of infections, and as such, strict measures are likely to remain in place in the Netherlands for the foreseeable future.
New vaccines
As of March 2, more than 1.8 million people in the Netherlands received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccination. This puts the Netherlands in fourth place in the EU for the number of first doses administered.
The Netherlands is also set to receive 11.3 million doses of the Janssen vaccine. This vaccine was partly developed in Leiden and only requires recipients to receive one-shot to be protected against coronavirus.
In other coronavirus-related news, here is a quick overview of what happened over the past week.
Hospitality protests against current measures
Today bars, shops, and sex workers are staging protests against coronavirus measures. Bars and restaurants set out tables on their terraces, but are not serving customers in an attempt to waive the €4,000 fine. They are encouraging supporters who gather on terraces to maintain a safe distance.
Sex workers in the Hague are performing a peep-show on the go. This is to protest the fact that sex work is the only contact profession not able to open under the current measures. The protest is taking place now until 6 PM.
Vaccination passport debated
In an EU summit last week, the majority of members were in favour of introducing a vaccination passport. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, is in favour of the passport but believes it is too soon to start developing it.
Rutte told RTL Nieuws that “there are still some major decisions between idea and implementation. This will take a few more months. It won’t happen overnight.”
Follow DutchReview on Facebook for the latest news and coronavirus measures.
Feature Image: cottonbro/Pexels