The number of  newly-registered positive coronavirus cases in the Netherlands topped 9,000 in the 24 hours to Thursday morning, according to new figures from public health agency RIVM.

In total, 9,283 new positive tests were reported, a rise of 526 on Wednesday. A further 238 people were admitted to hospital, up six on Wednesday and 56 more people are being treated in intensive care. Almost all of them have been moved from a general ward to an IC unit.

There are now 2,003 patients being treated for coronavirus in hospital, of whom 463 are in intensive care, as the admittance rate outstrips the number of people who are being discharged.

The national patient coordination centre expects to move some coronavirus patients to German hospitals shortly as regular healthcare comes under increasing pressure, the Volkskrant said in its report on the new figures.

In Amsterdam, the number of new infections also hit a milestone, topping 800 for the first time.

Despite Thursday’s sharp increase, the growth in the number of new cases does appear to be flattening. The 58,451 positive tests in the past seven days is a rise of 21% on the previous weekly period, but the week on week growth had been 40% to 60% for the past few weeks.