COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands has resulted in 8,635,962[1] confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 22,986[1] deaths.
COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
The virus reached the Netherlands on 27 February 2020, when its first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Tilburg.[5] It involved a 56-year-old Dutchman who had arrived in the Netherlands from Italy. The virus was confirmed to have reached Europe on 24 January 2020, when the first COVID-19 case was identified in Bordeaux - France. As of 31 January 2021, there are 978,475 confirmed cases of infections and 13,998 confirmed deaths.[6] The first death occurred on 6 March, when an 86-year-old patient died in Rotterdam.[7]
On the advice of the Outbreak Management Team (OMT), under supervision of Jaap van Dissel, measures were taken by the Third Rutte cabinet for the public health to prevent the spread of this viral disease, including the "intelligent lockdown".[8] The government strategy on pandemic control has been criticised[9][10] for the refusal to acknowledge the role of asymptomatic spread and the role of masks in preventing spread,[11] as well as for the lack of testing capacity, in particular during the first half of 2020.[12] In March 2020, Prime Minister Mark Rutte called for herd immunity as an important method to stop the pandemic.[13] On 23 January 2021, as the government imposed a nationwide 9:00 p.m. curfew in a context of emergence of the British variant, the worst riots in 40 years broke out across the country.
Since the end of November 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is spreading in parts of Europe (i.e. UK, Denmark and France). The number of registered new infections has risen strongly. There is a lockdown in the Netherlands from 19 December 2021 to (at least) 14 January 2022.[14]
As of 10 September 2022, a total of 36,105,753 vaccine doses have been administered.[15]
Background[edit]
On 12 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan, Hubei, China, who had initially come to the attention of the WHO on 31 December 2019.[16][17]
Unlike SARS of 2003, the case fatality rate for COVID-19[18][19] has been much lower, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.[20][18]
Testing[edit]
By mid-March, the country could test about 1,000 samples per day, which is less than the capabilities of other European countries.[131] This also explains a relatively large ratio of the number of deaths to the number of confirmed cases.[132] As of 25 March, 2,500 samples have been tested daily and a total number of 38,000 tests performed. Because of the limited availability of testing capacity, certain groups were prioritised in testing, such as healthcare workers, elderly, and people with acute symptoms.[133] A lack of testing capacity causes a distinct number of deaths by COVID-19 that are not registered as such, although local doctors can recognise the symptoms.[134] By the end of March, the country was testing about 4,000 people per day, with the goal of expanding the testing capacity to about 17,500 daily tests in a couple of weeks. Once such a testing capacity has been reached the Dutch government wants to expand its testing capacity to 29,000 tests a day.[135]
According to a report by the RIVM, an average of 4,280 tests per day have been performed in the period between 9 March and 26 April.[136] Several health organisations have started testing themselves, claiming the procedures of the GGD testing centers take too long.[137]
In a press conference on 6 May, the government announced that starting from 1 June it wants to test all people with COVID-19 symptoms. The coordination has been criticised, with the regional GGD offices stating there is no clear national plan to scale up testing.[138] Nonetheless, the test capacity was increased to 30,000 per day with the GGDs being able to conduct 600 to 2400 contact traces for positively tested applicants with 2-8% of the tests done assumed to result positive for the virus.[139] On 1 June, a national telephone number was made public through which a test time and location could be scheduled. The new system, although initially overwhelmed by the number of callers on the first day, tested 50,000 people in the first week and had 100,000 applicants by 11 June.[140][141] By 9 June, most regions where successful in handling the increased demand, with people often being able to schedule a test the same day or the day after.[142] The GGDs strive for a test result to be made known to the applicant within 48 hours, with 96% of results being successfully returned within that time by 11 June.[141]