Two more Covid-19 deaths recorded as numbers continue to decline

Two more deaths from coronavirus have been recorded in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 6,107, according the public health agency RIVM.

One of the victims, a patient in Limburg, died on Sunday, three days after the last known fatality. So far four Covid-19 patients are known to have died in the past week, although some cases are not reported to the RIVM for several days or weeks.

Despite the consistently low figures, the R number, the scientific estimate of how widely the virus is reproducing, was raised to 1.05 on June 4 and 5, the most recent days for which it has been calculated. The number needs to remain below 1 to ensure the virus keeps declining.

Another 78 positive tests were recorded in the last 24 hours while three more people were admitted to hospital with coronavirus. Nearly half the new cases were in the health board regions Haaglanden, which includes The Hague, and Rotterdam-Rijnmond.

Altogether 50,223 people have tested positive since the first case on February 27. In the third week of June, 609 out of a total of 63,034 tests were positive, a proportion of less than 1 per cent.

The RIVM is switching from daily to weekly updates from Wednesday, July 1, although figures will still be updated on its online coronavirus dashboard.