Link infection figures and pressure on care less unambiguously, what about that?

Field epidemiologist Amrish Baidjoe points out that a similar situation occurred last summer. During that period, young people first became infected, who then infected increasingly older age groups: “We know that infections move faster through groups that are mobile, such as young people. Only then do they end up in less mobile groups such as the elderly.”

In fact, there is a double delay, because then it takes a few more weeks before the person possibly gets to the hospital and another two weeks on average before that person ends up in the ICU. Baidjoe: “I feel that people still don’t really understand how exponential growth works. At first it seems to increase slowly, but at a certain point it goes very quickly. If you suddenly see a sharp increase in hospitals, you are already too late.”

Home treatment

Another factor in the relationship between infection rates and hospital admissions is a changed treatment policy, Van Dissel said this weekend. Some GPs provide more care at home, even with drugs that were previously only provided in hospital such as oxygen or anti-inflammatory dexamethasone. Or they are more likely to be discharged from the hospital to be treated at home with the same means. Alma Tostmann: “So you have to look at the intake figures in the hospital rather than at the total occupancy.”

Today the hospital admissions figures showed again a raise. According to the National Coordination Center for Patient Distribution (LCPS), the number of patients increased by 120 patients to the highest level since the beginning of February. Ernst Kuipers of the LCPS during a press moment: “There is talk of possible relaxation, but the hospital occupancy is higher than when we decided in October and December to take more measures.”

–