Another 4,060 coronavirus cases were recorded by the public health agency on Wednesday, taking the seven-day average figure below 4,000 for the first time since early October.

Cases are continuing to decline by an average of 19% week on week despite warnings that the prevalence of the B-117 strain, sometimes called the ‘British variant’, will inevitably lead to a fourth wave of infections in the spring.

The number of Covid-19 patients in hospital fell by 55 to 2,214, while 613 people are being treated in intensive care, 16 fewer than on Tuesday.

The RIVM reported another 62 deaths related to coronavirus, against a weekly average of 63 in the last seven days. Infections in nursing homes are also on the wane: currently 618 institutions have had at least one new case in the last two weeks, compared to 710 a week ago.

More than 400,000 vaccine doses have now been given, according to the RIVM’s latest estimates. The total figure of 416,093 injections comprises 303,702 in hospitals and local health facilities and an estimated 112,391 in long-term care institutions.