The number of patients being admitted to hospital with Covid-19 is continuing to rise, according to latest figures from the public health agency RIVM.

On Wednesday morning there were 1,372 people in hospital with coronavirus infections, up by 19% since last week. The average number of admissions per day rose above 150 for the first time since January 2.

The number of intensive care patients has fallen by 13% in the last seven days to 215, but the rate of decline is slowing.

On Tuesday the agency published breakdown figures which showed around three-quarters of people in hospital with coronavirus infections were being treated either for the virus or a condition aggravated by the infection. The proportion was higher in older age groups, but relatively few people over 60 are falling ill with coronavirus at the moment.

The RIVM reported another 67,045 positive tests on Wednesday, while the number of infections is around 40% higher than a week ago. The figures also showed 57.1% of all tests taken were positive for the virus.

Testing laboratories are also dealing with a backlog of around 104,000 tests, meaning the real number of infections is higher than the official numbers.