A total of 19,326 positive coronavirus tests were registered with the RIVM in the week to Tuesday morning, according to the latest weekly update from the public health agency.

The weekly total is nearly 6,000 up on the previous seven-day period. The percentage of positive tests has also risen, from 6.1% to 7.4%, taking the estimated total number of infections to 145,000.

The government said on Monday it expects the number of daily infections to rise to 5,000 in the coming days, and has introduced a package of measures aimed at reducing social contacts and stemming the spread of the virus.

In total, 206,600 people were tested for coronavirus last week, a rise of 14,000 on the previous seven-day period.

The crucial R factor, or the number of people infected by each infectious person, is currently 1.33 and the government said it hopes the new measures will bring the R factor down to below one within three weeks.

Local officials have also recommended that face masks are used in shops, cafes and public places in the big cities of Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Eindhoven.

So far high street store Hema has said it will not force customers to wear a mask, but the Bijenkorf group has said they will be a requirement in the four cities which have been highlighted. Masks will also be handed out to shoppers as they enter, the company said.

The number of coronavirus patients in intensive care wards remains 142, but 33 more people were being treated in general wards, taking that total to 693. In addition, 102 people who had tested positive for the virus died, triple the previous week’s death rate.