Immigration to the Netherlands has more than halved in the weeks following the implementation of measures to halt the spread of coronavirus, according to new research from national statistics agency CBS.

The Netherlands closed its borders on March 19, as air traffic came to a virtual standstill and all but essential travel was banned.

On average 2,200 people are now registering with town halls every week, down from 5,200 before the measures were brought in.

The biggest drop has been in the number of non-EU nationals arriving in the Netherlands – down from 2,500 to just 700. Around 1,000 EU nationals a week were registering with their local authority, compared with 2,300 before the measures were brought in.

In total, the drop in new arrivals is some 57%, compared with a drop of 15% during the same period last year, the CBS said. There was little change in the number of Dutch nationals returning home.

The biggest decline was in people from Syria – with just 10 Syrian refugees arriving every week, compared with 120 before the crisis hit.

The number of Indian immigrants fell from 220 a week to 40, while some 300 Poles are moving to the Netherlands on a weekly basis, down from 600 before March 19.

Fewer people are also leaving the Netherlands, with emigration dropping from 2,800 to 1,500.