The official death toll from coronavirus has risen by 67 in the past 24 hours, according to new figures from public health institute RIVM, but the true total is likely to be distorted by late reporting because of the weekend.

Nevertheless, the increase in the official death toll is the lowest rise reported this month, the RIVM said. On Sunday, the RIVM said the total number of official coronavirus related deaths had risen by 83.

In total, 3,751 people are reported to have died from coronavirus in the Netherlands, but the real total could be as much as double this.

A further 75 people have been admitted to hospital while the number of positive tests rose by 750 to 33,405.

Tuesday announcement

The Dutch government is due to announce on Tuesday if sufficient progress has been made in bringing the spread of coronavirus under control, so that some of the partial lockdown measures can be lifted.

Prime minister Mark Rutte has already warned against too much optimism. Germany, Poland and Denmark have already begun relaxing some of their social distancing laws, and in France, visits to nursing homes may now be resumed.

The Netherlands’ current ‘intelligent lockdown’ is due to expire on April 28, although the ban on organised events runs until June 1.