Brabanders celebrated carnival as usual a week ago. And that seems to lead to more corona infections. RIVM counted many new cases, especially in Tilburg, Eindhoven and Den Bosch. But the institute is not sure whether the fun party really had an influence on that.
People hustling close to each other is also a celebration for the corona virus. The Brabanders pandemic has learned that lesson. Especially after carnival in 2020 led to the first corona infections in the Netherlands. It also seems to be a hit this year: last week’s corona figures in the south seem to be higher on average than in other places. Nationally, fewer people (3,800) became infected in the week before Carnival than in the seven days after (4,600).
Brabant figures just below those of Randstad
The largest increase in Brabant was seen in Tilburg, where 145 people were tested positive by the GGD. That number is probably even higher, because most people test themselves or don’t test at all. This is followed by Eindhoven (140 infections) and Den Bosch (106 infections). The fanatical leutmunicipalities score just below Nijmegen and the large cities in the Randstad.
Relatively speaking, Waalre stands out, because after carnival 158.9 infections per 100,000 inhabitants were added. Heeze-Leende also stands out with 121.4 cases per 100,000 people.
Further research
A direct link between carnival and the number of coronavirus infections therefore seems obvious, but RIVM itself does not want to go that far. Although a large proportion of the infected carnival celebrants will have received complaints during the course of last week, a direct connection between the virus and the party cannot yet be demonstrated, according to the institute. This needs further research.
See below in which municipalities most people from Brabant became infected last week:
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