Dutch coronavirus measures have lowered infection rate - health official

 

FILE PHOTO: Pubs and bars at the famous Leidseplein have closed their doors in response to a rapidly expanding coronavirus outbreak, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo

 

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Measures to limit the coronavirus outbreak in the Netherlands appear to have halved the rate of infection but need to be continued to be really effective, the country's top official for infectious diseases said on Wednesday.

 

The rate of recorded infections in the Netherlands, where more than 1,000 people have died, has dropped considerably since the Dutch government closed all schools, restaurants and bars last month, the head of the Dutch Public Health Institute Jaap van Dissel said in a briefing to parliament.

 

"The measures seem to work", Van Dissel said. "It is now crucially important to continue them."

 

The average number of people infected by someone carrying the coronavirus has dropped below 1 in the Netherlands since mid-march, Van Dissel said.

 

"At that rate the infection will slowly diminish. But it does not mean we can relax our measures, because then the rate of infections would go up again."

 

Despite the lower infection rate, the number of patients in intensive care units will continue to rise sharply in the coming weeks, Van Dissel said, possibly reaching a peak of around 2,400 at the end of the month.

 

Dutch hospitals currently have around 1,600 intensive care beds available and aim to increase this number to 2,400 by Sunday.

 

As of Monday, the number of deaths in the Netherlands resulting from the coronavirus epidemic stood at 1,039, while the number of confirmed infections had risen to 12,595.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-01

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Pattern emerging that if stringent measures aimed at limiting people to people contact in all ways either in work or socially are introduced early enough there does appear to be a slowing in the infection rate .. but those measures have to be introduced before it has a firm foothold and people have to stick with them .. 

19 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Pattern emerging that if stringent measures aimed at limiting people to people contact in all ways either in work or socially are introduced early enough there does appear to be a slowing in the infection rate .. but those measures have to be introduced before it has a firm foothold and people have to stick with them .. 

governments have to enforce them - people can't be trusted especially in the supposedly 'enlightened' countries..

Edited April 2, 20206 yr by from the home of CC

1 hour ago, from the home of CC said:

governments have to enforce them - people can't be trusted especially in the supposedly 'enlightened' countries..

Anyone who trust governments more than the people is on a steep learning curve.

1600 or even 2400 intensive care beds for a whole country is low. That's why so many die. Ramp it up!!!

5 minutes ago, Ketyo said:

1600 or even 2400 intensive care beds for a whole country is low. That's why so many die. Ramp it up!!!

That is just for Corona patients and actually the same as many other EU countries compared to population. We did have more before until... politics... messed up.
Not sure why this is news by the way, Dutch were not behaving properly at all and the government almost needed more strict measures to stop them. 

The death count is also going up fast and not that far away from the same percentage as Italy, the same counts for Belgium.

When it's all said and done, I wonder what the real count will be...  the net count, not just the ones who die from the virus.

 

Those killed by the virus, minus those who don't die on the roads or due to pollution from closed factories, plus those who die because of the economic strife from the austerity measures that are marginally successful at reducing one number in a very complex equation. 

 

As I recall, the last time the economies were this bad, an ex-corporal from Germany used it as an excuse and a rallying cry to start some mischief.  With Brexit and the other Euro zone problems (like Italy), along with the FSU issues, who knows what unintended consequences are next?

 

We live in interesting times.  And scary...

Edited April 2, 20206 yr by impulse