PROVINCE OF UTRECHT – The omikron wave of the corona virus is weakening quickly. In the past week, 27,806 positive test results were registered in the province of Utrecht. That is almost 38 percent less than the week before, according to figures from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).
In Utrecht hospitals, the number of patients with covid-19 fell sharply, especially in the ICUs. There are currently 8 corona patients in the ICUs of the Diakonessenhuis, Meander Medical Center, St. Antonius Hospital and UMC Utrecht. Last week there were 17. There are now 106 patients with Covid-19 on the nursing wards, compared to 118 a week earlier.
Also strong national decline
The infection figures throughout the Netherlands also show a strong decrease. The number of positive test results over the past week was 310,144. That is a drop of 37 percent compared to the week before. It is the lowest weekly total in five weeks.
The number of positive tests also falls for the second week in a row. “The decline in the wave of contamination seems to have started”, the RIVM concludes. This is mainly because the number of infections among young people is falling sharply. For example, the number of positive tests among teenagers has more than halved in a week. This group previously had many infections, and therefore many young people are now probably immune, the RIVM stated earlier.
Reproduction number
That the omikron wave is weakening can also be seen from the reproduction number. That has dropped to 0.83. That is the lowest level since the end of July, seven months ago. Last week the reproduction number was still 0.98.
The reproduction number indicates how quickly the coronavirus is spreading. A figure of 0.83 means that a group of one hundred infected people infects an average of 83 others. They transmit the virus to about 69 people, who then infect about 57 people. With each step, the group of infected people is getting smaller. The further the number gets below 1, the faster the number of new cases falls.
In May 2020, after the first wave, the reproduction number was at its lowest level. It was then 0.48. The highest level dates from last July, the ‘dancing with Janssen’ wave. Then the reproduction number came out at 3.02.
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