News | RIVM

Operations postponed due to pandemic result in 320,000 healthy life years lost

The COVID-19 pandemic caused over 305,000 operations to be postponed in 2020 and 2021 in the Netherlands.

Participation in National Immunisation Programme shows slight decrease

Participation in the National Immunisation Programme has fallen slightly, showing a decrease of 1 to 2 percentage points.

SARS-CoV-2 infections continue to rise

Infections with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in the Netherlands continued to rise this week. This increase can be seen in sewage surveillance and in the infections reported to the Municipal Public Health Services (GGDs).

Number of STI tests at sexual health centres are rising again

In 2021, more than 138,000 people were tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) at a centre for sexual health.

Upward trend in infections continues

Infections with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in the Netherlands have increased for the third week in a row. The number of patients admitted to hospital nursing wards remained the same this week.

Nearly twice as many cases involving long-term symptoms after COVID-19

Three months after infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, almost half of people still report one or more long-term symptoms, such as fatigue, difficulty concentrating and loss of smell.

Man houdt tablet vast met vragenlijst over Long COVID

New test for Lyme disease is not reliable

To determine whether someone has Lyme disease, doctors in the Netherlands often use antibody tests. For some time now, so-called cellular tests have been available on the market.

Verschillende commerciële laboratoria gebruiken zogeheten cellulaire testen voor Lyme. Helaas zijn niet betrouwbaar.

Many more infections, limited increase in hospital admissions

In the past week, the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the Netherlands increased by 64% compared to the week before that.

Current knowledge on microplastics in the soil is still inadequate

A literature review carried out by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has concluded that reliable standard techniques should be developed to analyse microplastics in the soil.

New crisis response organisation at RIVM to control future pandemics

The cabinet has agreed to the proposal of Ernst Kuipers, Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, to set up a National Functionality for Infectious Disease Control (LFI).