The weekly report from the RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and Environment) reveals that, since the update last week, another 27.485 people in the Netherlands have tested positive for COVID-19, the illness that is caused by the new coronavirus. 

Coronavirus situation in the Netherlands

Of the people infected, another 89 people have died since last Tuesday*, September 29, bringing the death toll to 6.482. Another 803 patients have been admitted to hospital. As not all people are getting tested, the true number of people infected with the new coronavirus is higher than reported. 

*There may be a delay between the day of death and the day that it is reported.

**Not all the patients reported tested positive, were hospitalised, or died in the past week. Some figures are only reported much later. The data from previous weeks is therefore supplemented to include them. 

Dutch hospitals forced to reschedule regular care

A number of hospitals across the Netherlands have recently been forced to decide to scale down regular care and reschedule operations and appointments as the number of coronavirus patients admitted to hospitals rise. 

All hospitals in the provinces of North Holland and Flevoland are scaling down regular care by 20 percent, and a number of non-urgent appointments and operations have been postponed.

As of October 6,  there were a total of 975 coronavirus patients in hospitals across the Netherlands. 190 of which are being treated in intensive care, the National Coordination Centre for Patient Distribution (LCPS) has reported.

Ernst Kuipers, head of the National Acute Care Network (LNAZ), said on Monday that he expected the number of coronavirus patients in Dutch hospitals to rise to “at least” one thousand this week.

Register for a coronavirus test

If you are experiencing coronavirus symptoms, you can get tested to see if you are infected with the virus. You can call 0800 1202 to make an appointment if you have one or more of the following mild symptoms (have your BSN at the ready):

• Stuffy and / or runny nose
• Sneezing
• Sore throat
• Coughing
• Fever
• Sudden loss of smell or taste

Contact a doctor if you have severe symptoms or if you belong to an at-risk group.