Delta variant, covid infection boom in the Netherlands

Boom of coronavirus infections in the Netherlands for the Delta variant. In the last week, 51,957 new positive cases were found, a 500% increase over the previous seven days, the Dutch health institute (Rivm) reported today, cited by the Dutch media. The coronavirus reproduction index rose to 2.17, the highest ever recorded in the Netherlands. The incidence rate over seven days is now 270 cases per hundred thousand inhabitants. To make a comparison, in neighboring Germany the incidence is 6.5 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. According to the RIVM, 60-65% of cases are due to the delta variant and infections have skyrocketed in the 18-24 age group, largely unvaccinated. At the moment there is also no growth in hospitalizations and deaths. The surge in new cases comes after the government lifted virtually all restrictions on June 26, even reopening discos and nightclubs that had been closed for 15 months. Prime Minister Mark Rutte had to back down on Friday, closing nightclubs and requiring bars and restaurants not to stay open past midnight. Rutte then publicly apologized for the “error of judgment”.