In the past calendar week, there were 43% fewer hospital admissions of patients with COVID-19 compared to the week before. New arrivals in the ICU were also down by 43% compared to the previous week.* Pressure on hospitals from COVID-19 patients is diminishing steadily. It is important for everyone to continue following the measures, so COVID-19 admissions and infections continue to decrease. 20,608 new people who tested positive were reported between 26 May and 1 June at 10:00, marking an 18% decrease in reported positive COVID-19 tests.
All the weekly COVID-19 figures are presented in a table on the RIVM website.
Vaccination is proceeding quickly. Nearly 9.5 million vaccinations have been given by now. At this point, people born in 1981 or before can make a vaccination appointment.
* Source: NICE Foundation
Hospital admissions
533 new COVID-19 hospital admissions were reported last week, 43% fewer than in the week before, when 940 people with COVID-19 were admitted to hospital. 112 new ICU admissions were reported in the past week, a 43% decrease compared to the week before, when 196 people with COVID-19 were admitted to ICU.
Age distribution of hospital admissions
The effect of the vaccination campaign can be seen clearly in the age distribution of people admitted to hospital with COVID-19, both in nursing ward admissions and ICU admission (Figures 1 and 2). Until mid-May, more than half of the patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in the Netherlands were over the age of 60. In the second half of May, the number of people with COVID-19 admitted to hospital was about evenly divided between people aged 40-59 and people aged 60-70.
Figure 1. Hospital admissions by age group, per week (source: NICE Foundation).
Figure 2. Number of ICU admissions age group, per calendar week since 4 January 2021 (Source: NICE Foundation).
Testing positive for COVID-19
Once again, fewer people (-11%) were tested in the test lanes operated by the Municipal Public Health Services (GGDs). 212,292 people were tested for COVID-19 in the past calendar week, compared to 239,277 in the week before that. The percentage of people who tested positive for COVID-19 last week was 9.0%, which is lower than the previous week (10.4%).
20,608 new people who tested positive for COVID-19 were reported in the past week. That is a decrease of 18% compared to the week before that. In the past seven days, 119 people per 100,000 inhabitants received a positive test result for COVID-19. The number of positive COVID-19 tests per 100,000 inhabitants decreased in all age groups, except for children aged 0 to 12 years (+4%). This is also the only age group in which more testing took place during the past calendar week, as was also the case after the May holidays (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Number of reported positive tests per 100,000 inhabitants, by age group, per calendar week (19 April to 30 May 2021)
Reproduction number and contagious people
The reproduction number based on reported positive tests was 0.82 (lower limit 0.79 – upper limit 0.85), remaining the same as the week before. For the first time since December 2020, the number of contagious people has dropped below 100,000; there are now 73,984 contagious people. The reproduction numbers based on hospital admissions and based on ICU admissions are included in the table presenting the weekly figures on COVID-19.
Follow the measures, even after a negative test result (or self-test) or after vaccination.
Besides vaccinations, continuing to follow the measures is the way to prevent people from becoming infected. That also applies when you are on holiday. Until vaccinations have been given to everyone who wants them, this is how we can prevent the virus from spreading faster again. Stay at least 1.5 metres from others. If you have symptoms, stay home and get tested – even if you are vaccinated. Testing is still important if you have already been vaccinated. You can still become infected and infect others. Wash your hands regularly. Did you test positive for COVID-19 on the self-test? Stay home, isolate yourself from others, have your household members start quarantining, and contact the GGD. This is how we will stop the spread of the virus.