Dutch official coronavirus death toll nears 6,000 as testing is ramped up

Deaths on a day by day basis, with new reports in orange
Deaths on a day by day basis, with new reports in orange

The official coronavirus death toll in the Netherlands rose by 32 on Thursday, taking the total to 5,903, the public health institute RIVM said in its daily update.

The number of hospital admissions rose by 16 to 11,713 and a further 182 people have tested positive for the virus. Nearly 46,000 people have now been diagnosed as having coronvirus at some point.

The real death total is likely to be some 40% higher because the official figures only include people who have been tested for the disease. Thursday’s figure, a sharp increase on Wednesday, includes 23 people who died earlier in the week and two who died over a month ago, the AD reported.

From June 1 everyone who has symptoms of coronavirus will be able to have a test without a referral by their family doctor. Capacity will be for some 30,000 tests a day and health officials expect between 2% and 8% to test positive.

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