Is it the fifth? The sixth? After two and a half years of corona, we are a bit done with it. But Covid doesn’t care about that. In the last seven days, RIVM received almost 26,500 reports of positive corona tests. The week before, there were ‘only’ 15,526 positive tests.
New corona wave
Infections have increased in almost all regions and age groups. Rapid tests are not included in the RIVM figures. The real number of infections is probably higher.
The R-number is currently at 1.25, which means that every 100 corona patients infect 125. With such an R-number, the new corona wave is certainly not on its way out yet. Will there be measures again? Is our summer vacation in jeopardy again?
Measures and advice
Health Minister Ernst Kuipers believes that we should take this seriously and calls on all people over sixty who have not yet had a repeat shot to get it. According to him, extra measures are not necessary at the moment and there is no need for a new round of vaccinations. “But”, he emphasizes, “the basic rules are now more relevant. Wash your hands, ventilate well and keep your distance where possible.”
The RIVM also emphasized that especially people over the age of seventy, nursing home residents, adults with Down syndrome and adults with a serious immune disorder are recommended to get the repeat shot. In addition, RIVM advises people to get a booster shot if they have not already done so.
Not sicker, but more contagious
Omikron subvariant BA.5 is currently in its heyday. This variant does not necessarily make people sicker, but it does manage to cleverly circumvent the immune system, making it more contagious. The number of people admitted to hospital with corona stabilized compared to a week earlier. But the number of IC admissions from Covid patients increased by 37%. Of the 268 corona patients who ended up in hospital last week, 22 patients were referred to the IC.
This is how you make your own disinfecting hand gel: