The number of positive coronavirus tests has plunged 44% over the past week, and hospital admissions would also appear to have reached their peak, public health institute RIVM said in its weekly update on Tuesday.

A total of just over 21,000 positive tests were reported to the RIVM in the past seven days, compared with 37,000 in the week-earlier period. The R number, or infection rate, has also gone down again to 0.69, the RIVM said.

Of those with a positive test result, 11.5% had been fully vaccinated and 42% partially.

Most cases are still among people in their teens and 20s, who are least likely to have been fully vaccinated. So far some 21 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the Netherlands and over 60% of adults are fully protected. RIVM research still shows some 90% plan to do so.

Fewer people reporting to a regional health board test centre tested positive – 12.4% compared with 13.6% in the early seven day period. This figure does not include people who had a coronavirus test because they were planning to travel.

In total, 28 people died in the past week, but that is a fraction of the number of deaths at the height of the pandemic.

The RIVM also said hospitalisations are down at 541 compared with 564 a week earlier. There was, however, a slight increase in admissions to Intensive Care, which totalled 130.

The more infections Delta variant of coronavirus now accounts for an estimated 88% of all cases in the Netherlands.