A member of medical staff takes coronavirus test samples during drive-thru coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing, on a converted ice rink in Alkmaar, the Netherlands April 8, 2020. (Reuters/Piroschka van de Wouw photo)
AMSTERDAM--The official death toll from coronavirus in the Netherlands has risen by 189 to 2,643 in the latest update from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment RIVM.
A further 189 people have been admitted to hospital, taking that total to 8,386. The number of positive tests had increased by 1,316 to nearly 25,000 on Saturday, as testing is widened to cover more healthcare workers. In total, 550 of the people to test positive in the past 24 hours work in healthcare.
The true infection rate and death toll are higher than reported, and on Friday, the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) suggested the true number of deaths was being significantly under-reported. There is also mounting concern about the number of people dying in nursing homes who have not been tested for the virus.
Meanwhile, the number of people being treated for coronavirus in intensive care beds fell by 33 on Friday to 1,384, according to the latest figures. Of them, 58 people are being treated in Germany.
The number of patients in intensive care has now been stable for several days. Nevertheless, it is still too soon to say if the epidemic has passed its peak in the Netherlands, coordination centre chairman Ernst Kuipers said. So far, 379 people have died of coronavirus while being treated in intensive care and 164 people have recovered, according to coordination figures.
