Decline in coronavirus cases slowing down as travel infections pick up

The number of positive coronavirus tests in the last week fell to its lowest level since early September, but there were signs that the steep drop in cases is slowing down.

The public health agency RIVM reported another 4,208 cases over the seven-day period, 26.5% fewer than last week. In the first three weeks of June the figure declined by at least 30% a week.

The number of hospital admissions more than halved from 170 to 82, including 17 patients who were admitted to intensive care. The RIVM also recorded another 15 deaths, compared to 17 the week before.

For the first time since July 29 last year no new Covid-19 patients were taken in to intensive care in 24 hours, according to Tuesday’s figures from Stichting NICE.

The weekly figures also showed 3.1% of all tests were positive, down from 4.3% the week before and the lowest proportion since early August. The total number of tests taken was just over 125,000 – only 5.6% less than the previous week.

Nearly one in 10 people who tested positive had travelled abroad in the last two weeks, 52.6 of whom had been to Spain or Portugal – countries where the Delta variant, first sequenced in India, is causing cases to rise in some regions. Six people tested positive after visiting the UK, which is classed as high risk by the Dutch government.

The figures also show the downward trend weakening in the younger generation, with the number of infections down by 12.4% among the 20 to 35 age group. People under 30 accounted for more than half (55.4%) of all positive tests.

The biggest drops were among the under-20s and over-75s, both of which were down by more than 36%.

Around the 25 local health board (GGD) regions Drenthe had the lowest infection rate, with 9.5 cases per 100,000 residents, while Rotterdam-Rijnmond had 46.5 cases per 100,000. All but four regions had fewer than 35 cases per 100,000 in the last week, the upper limit for level 1 on the government’s four-point risk scale.