Compared to other countries in Western Europe, the Netherlands is in bad shape when it comes to the spread of the corona virus. The alarming figures from regions in the Netherlands, Belgium and France contrast sharply with the figures in countries that are taking stricter measures at an early stage.
This is shown by research by data journalist Jasper Bunskoek of RTL News. He compared the corona figures of 950 regions in 11 different countries around the Netherlands.
The EU uses this division of regions to compare statistics, says Bunskoek. “We have converted recent local corona data into these formats to see where the coronavirus is hitting hardest at the moment.”
The 40 Dutch regions in the study do not score well. “An average region currently has about 15 new positive tests per 100,000 inhabitants per week. All Dutch regions are above that. Amsterdam and The Hague are even among the top 10 most infectious regions in Western Europe.”
Positive tests per 100,000 inhabitants per week
Paris largest fireplace
As in the Netherlands, the figures in Belgium and France are also gloomy. Paris, where the Tour de France recently finished, with 231 positive tests per 100,000 inhabitants, has the dubious honor of leading the ranking of the 950 regions surveyed.
The Belgian capital Brussels is also in the top 10 with 190 positive tests per 100,000 inhabitants. However, Amsterdam is still above that with 194 positive tests and is the first non-French region in the list. The first German region only follows in place 72. It concerns the city of Hamm, with 96 positive tests per 100,000 inhabitants.
Positive tests per 100,000 inhabitants
Mouth caps and group sizes
It is not surprising that regions from countries such as Ireland or Germany can produce lower figures. In those countries, immediate action is taken in the event of alarming values. For example, in Ireland there is an extensive schedule of measures (.pdf).
German regions are required to take action if the number of positive tests exceeds 50 per 100,000. As a result of the rising figures in Hamm, a substantial package of measures has therefore been announced.
Many infections in the Weesp corona fire
A permit is required for private parties with more than 25 people, the amusement park is closed and a mouth mask is required in secondary schools.
Critical Limit
This is the case in more German regions that exceed the critical limit of 50 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Very different from the Netherlands. Amsterdam already crossed that border on August 9. 42 days later, when the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants was three times as high, local measures were taken, which are not yet as strict as in Hamm, for example.
It appears that Germany’s policy to reduce the virus is paying off. In any case, on the map above hardly any red areas can be found in the eastern neighbors.
And their approach seemed successful earlier in the crisis. Covid-19 claimed the lives of 9,400 Germans out of a population of 83 million so far. The official death toll in the Netherlands stands at more than 6,300 in a population of 17.4 million people.
When does a country take measures?
Accountability
For this study, data from 950 regions in 11 different countries was compared. The regional classification has been taken over from the European Union, it concerns so-called NUTS-3 regions.
The data on the spread of the coronavirus has been collected from 14 different health institutes operating in these countries. The data was collected on Friday afternoon, September 25 and concerns the most recent figures for 7 days per region.
The figures were then converted to the European Union classification where necessary.
