There has been a slight rise in the number of coronavirus patients admitted to hospital, the Dutch public health institute RIVM said on Thursday.

The number of new admissions, 137, is up 13 on Wednesday and takes the total number of admissions since the pandemic began to 10,158.

The official death toll rose by 123, taking the official total to 4,177. However, the real figure could be as much as twice as high, because only people who have tested for the disease are included.

Nevertheless, the number of both hospital admissions and deaths continue to show a steady decrease, the RIVM said.

The RIVM also recorded a further 887 positive tests, taking the total number of confirmed infections to 35,729. Testing has been ramped up throughout the healthcare sector since earlier this month.

The agency also said on Thursday that figures indicate coronavirus has been confirmed in one third of the country’s nursing homes. Some 120,000 people live in residential care in the Netherlands.

Mid February

Meanwhile, other research by RIVM statisticians indicates that coronavirus had reached the Netherlands by mid February, well before the first official patient was recorded on February 27.

A 49-year-old woman from Altena in Noord-Brabant was admitted to intensive care on February 21 and was later tested positive for the disease. She told health officials that she had had symptoms for ‘weeks’.

And other research involving healthcare staff at a Brabant hospital also indicates the disease was spreading by the middle of the month.

The AD said it had identified several key sources which contributed to the spread of the disease in the south. They included skiing holidays to northern Italy and Austria, cafes full of carnival and apres ski revellers, and church services in the Bible Belt.