Animals on two more mink farms have been infected with coronavirus, bringing the total to 20.

The ministry of agriculture confirmed the virus had been found on the farms in Gemert, Noord-Brabant. A total of 19,000 mink were destroyed on Monday.

Altogether more than 600,000 mink have been killed since the start of the outbreak. Mink farming in the Netherlands is being phased out by 2024 but the government has rejected recent calls from MPs to speed up the process.

Stricter hygiene protocols have been introduced for the industry since it emerged that mink could contract the virus. There has been a ban on transporting the animals and workers with Covid-type symptoms are not allowed to come into contact with them.

In at least two instances mink are known to have transmitted the virus to humans.