Amazement everywhere during the technical briefing to the House of Representatives this morning. When director van Dissel of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment indicated that he was focusing on the reproduction number from more than three weeks ago, this immediately prompted Fleur Agema to ask questions about why it should take so long to update the reproduction number.

According to Jaap van Dissel, it is difficult to draw conclusions based on the number of infections. Due to the previous ICT problems, and because it is possible to be tested faster, so that perhaps more people are now being tested, the figures may be slightly distorted. It is too early to determine that we have reached a turning point on the basis of the more than 10.000 infections per day that no longer seem to be increasing. After the tightening, the numbers have fallen somewhat, but insufficient to get through. 

“For a number of days there have been around 10.000 infections per day. We are convinced that there is a leveling off. But whether it is also decreasing, we do not know ”, says Jaap van Dissel. 

It is too early to say that we will definitely go down. The next few days are critical. MPs think it is positive that when modeling the numbers, keeping the schools open was taken into account. Van Dissel also warned against the proliferation of rapid tests and indicates that action may need to be taken on this. Some of those tests even state that these are RIVM approved, while the institute is not aware of these tests, let alone certifies them.

doubts about a decline

According to Enst Kuipers of the National Acute Care Network, hospitals have still not seen any flattening of the growth in the number of new patients. The number of occupied IC beds is rising slightly faster than planned and if the measures have no effect, there will be almost 1 corona patients in hospitals on December 6000. 

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