(This article originally appeared as a Facebook post on 18 May 2020)
UPDATE 12 June 2020: The Netherlands climbed up one spot from 23rd to 22nd place in the EU (6th from the bottom) in terms of Number of COVID-19 Tests per 1000 population. Globally the Netherlands has climbed up one spot from 56th place to 55th place since 31 May 2020.
UPDATE 31 May 2020: The Netherlands remained in 23rd place in the EU (5th from the bottom) in terms of Number of COVID-19 Tests per 1000 population. Globally the Netherlands has climbed up from 59th to the 56th place since 21 May 2020.
UPDATE 21 May 2020: The Netherlands has dropped further to 23rd place in the EU in terms of Number of COVID-19 Tests per 1000 population. Globally the Netherlands has dropped to the 59th place.
On 13 May the Netherlands was 21st (out of 27) in number of COVID-19 Tests per capita in the EU, and 55th world-wide. That is outrageously low for a country that is in the 7th place globally in number of COVID-10 Deaths per capita.
On 26 March 2020 the Dutch government appointed a “coronagezant” (“Corona envoy”) whose task was, among other things, to increase the Dutch COVID-19 testing capability. What are the results?
According to a NOS news report, at a technical briefing on 30 April 2020, the Corona envoy told members of parliament "At the beginning of the corona outbreak, the Netherlands had a very restrictive test policy due to the shortage of tests, but that is no longer the case". "We are in the middle bracket, compared to other countries." he was quoted as saying. Was he telling the truth?
The facts show that between 3 April 2020 (when data on COVID-19 testing first became available at my data source) and 29 April 2020, the day before the Corona envoy informed members of parliament, the Netherlands had actually dropped from mid-range to lower range (in terms of COVID-19 tests) in the EU (the bottom 9) and has stayed there until today.
The attached charts at the bottom show how the Netherlands has stayed behind other countries in number of COVID-19 tests and how it’s position has deteriorated over April and May 2020. The figures are number of tests per capita, in this case: Number of COVID-19 Tests per 1000 population.
We’ll start on 3 April 2020, one week after the Corona envoy was appointed:
- On 3 April the NL was 17th in the EU and 35th globally
- On 29 April the NL was 19th in the EU and 44th globally
- On 13 May the NL was 21st in the EU and 55th globally
- On 21 May the NL was 23rd in the EU and 59th globally
- On 31 May the NL was 23rd in the EU and 56th globally (update 31 May 2020)
- On 12 June the NL was 22nd in the EU and 55th globally (update 12 June 2020)
These numbers show that the Dutch authorities have not been seriously making efforts to increase testing and they are doing worse than many other countries.
(Update 12 June 2020: As of 12 June the NL has improved slightly in the EU by moving up 1 place to the 22nd position and globally it moved up from 56th to 55th position.)
In the EU, Belgium, France, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden were testing less per capita than the Netherlands on 3 April. Recently they are testing more per capita. At a global level, 24 countries have surpassed the Netherlands in number of COVID-19 tests per capita since 3 April 2020.
Globally, on 21 May 2020 Belgium is 12th, Slovakia 38th, France 48th, Sweden 49th and the Netherlands is in 59th place.
The theory is gaining strength that the Dutch authorities have deliberately kept the number of tests low, in order to keep the number of diagnosed cases low, in order to keep the number of reported COVID-19 deaths low (people not tested cannot be counted as dying from COVID-19), in order to not be blamed and held responsible for the high number of COVID-19 deaths and for being caught off-guard and horribly unprepared to deal with an outbreak such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the meantime, the delays in ramping up testing capability have caused people to die unnecessarily as asymptomatic infected health workers, who were not allowed to be tested as per RIVM instructions (see NOS report), were unintentionally infecting people by the hundreds if not thousands in care and nursing homes. May the victims rest in peace.
The following charts show the daily figures for COVID-19 tests set against the number of COVID-19 deaths since early April 2020. When the daily death numbers were at their highest, between 5 April and 11 May, the number of tests were at a low level throughout this period and remained at the same low level until the end of May 2020. Move the mouse cursor over the bar chart to see the daily numbers.
The number of New (daily) COVID-19 Tests are derived from Total COVID-19 Tests, as follows:
- The data source provides Total COVID-19 Tests per country for some (but not all) dates.
- The data source does not provide New (daily) COVID-19 Tests for any date.
- The New (daily) COVID-19 Tests are calculated as the difference between Total COVID-19 Tests on consecutive dates. If there are gaps between two dates, the difference is averaged between dates marked with “*”:
- The oldest date gets the average, rounded to the nearest integer.
- The next oldest date(s) get(s) the same average, rounded to the nearest integer.
- The most recent date (with Total COVID-19 Tests) gets the remaining number of tests.
Starting on June 1, 2020 the Dutch government has changed their COVID-19 Testing policy: anyone with complaints that match the COVID-19 coronavirus can be tested. The early results look promising as can be seen from the “New COVID-19 Tests” chart above.
From an average of 4800 COVID-19 tests per day before June 1, the average number of daily COVID-19 tests has gone up in June to around 8800 tests per day. Let’s hope they can keep up with the new pace and utilise the available testing capacity in the best possible way.
A recent Nieuwsuur investigation reported by nu.nl has shown that in March only about half of the available COVID-19 testing capacity in the Netherlands was utilised. In April the percentage went down further to only 30 per cent. According to the article, lives could have been saved in the previous months if the available but unused testing capacity was better utilised. Other investigations by Trouw and Investico showed that care and nursing homes staff who requested to be tested were previously rejected by test labs who followed the strict testing regime imposed by the Dutch government.
The charts below show in chronological order how the relative position of the Netherlands in the EU has worsened during April and May 2020, ending in the bottom group of 6 countries with the fewest number of COVID-19 tests per capita. At the same time, the Netherlands was in the top group of 6 countries with the highest number of COVID-19 deaths per capita.
The Netherlands 17th in the EU and 35th globally.
The Netherlands dropped to 19th place in the EU and 44th globally.
The Netherlands dropped to 21st place in the EU and to 55th place globally.
The Netherlands dropped to 23rd place in the EU and to 59th place globally.
The Netherlands remained in 23rd place in the EU and climbed up 3 places to 56th place globally.
The Netherlands climbed up to 22nd place in the EU and moved up 1 spot to 55th place globally.
The Netherlands is in the high risk 2nd quadrant (top left) with many deaths and few tests.