More contagious mutation B.1.1.7 causes two thirds of new Dutch virus cases

[Gert van der Hoek]

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The coronavirus mutation first detected in Britain caused half of all new infections in the Netherlands by Jan. 26, Dutch health minister Hugo de Jonge said on Monday.

Last week, health authorities said the new, more contagious variant was responsible for around a third of all new infections in the Netherlands.

The ‘British mutation’ was seen to be almost 50% more contagious than the older variant, based on calculations up until Jan. 14, De Jonge wrote in a letter to parliament.

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[Gert van der Hoek]

RIVM: two thirds of infections is now due to more contagious 'British variant'

In the past week, the number of corona infections decreased by 20 percent to 28,628, according to the RIVM. Tens of thousands of people were less tested, so that the percentage of positive tests hardly dropped: from 11.7 to 11.4 percent. The RIVM states that the epidemic would be heading in the right direction, were it not for the fact that new, more contagious variants of the virus "throw a spanner in the works".

Based on models, the institute estimates that two thirds of the infections are now the variant that is causing great pressure on hospitals in Great Britain and Ireland. For several weeks now, there have actually been two epidemics in the Netherlands, with different characteristics.

In addition to the British, three other variants of the virus have been found in the Netherlands: the South African (now found 23 times in the Netherlands) and two Brazilian (found twice).

Those new variants have a higher reproduction number; according to the latest calculations, the British have an 'R' of 1.28. That means that 100 people with corona infect 128 others.