Microbiologist Alex Friedrich from the UMCG: “we have to keep this up for another week. Only then would I be optimistic”
The spread of the Corona in Groningen and the rest of the Northern Netherlands seems to be receding, with the reproduction rate (“R”) of the virus below 1 for more than a week in the entire North, reports the GIC. In Groningen, it has even fallen to 0.8, says Alex Friedrich, doctor and microbiologist at the UMCG in an interview with the Dagblad van het Noorden.
“Stay in the North as much as possible, there’s nowhere as safe as here”, adds Friedrich. He points out that with the “R” rate dropping below 1, the acceleration of the spread of the virus has stopped. But it is still too early to cheer, he says. “We have to keep this up for another week. Only then would I be optimistic”.
According to Professor Friedrich it is considerably better here in Groningen, Friesland, and Drenthe than in the West of the Netherlands. In Rotterdam, for example, about 600 infections per 100,000 inhabitants in one week has been recorded. In the Northern region it is around 150 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, so significantly lower.
The Provinces of Zeeland and Limburg also seemed to be quiet in terms of Coronavirus infections for a long time, but infections are also beginning to rise in both provinces now. There are still some hotspots in the North, such as Stadskanaal and Westerwolde, according to the professor, who calls on people who adhere to the measures in the North and persevere.
More information is available on the Dutch government’s Coronavirus Dashboard.
