In total, 67,543 positive coronavirus tests were registered with public health institute RIVM in the week up to Tuesday 10am, the agency has confirmed.

That is a rise of 22% on the previous week and a drop of five percentage points on the week-earlier period, the RIVM said. The week before that, the increase in positive cases was 60%.

‘The number of new reports has again gone up less than in the previous week, and this is probably down to the measures introduced at the end of September and in mid October,’ the RIVM said in a statement.

More tests were also carried out – 321,654 – which is up around 10,000 on the previous week, and the positive test rate was higher, at nearly 18%.

The R factor, which indicates the infection rate, is virtually unchanged at 1.16. Only when the rate drops below 1 is the spread of the virus under control.

Hospitals

Some 2,358 are currently being treated in hospital for coronavirus, of whom 529 are in intensive care. More coronavirus patients continue to be admitted than are discharged, the patient coordination centre LCPS said.

In total, 329 people died of coronavirus in the past week, well up on the 185 deaths recorded in the previous seven-day period.

The rise takes the official total of people who have been tested for the virus and subsequently died to 7,142, although the real figure is well above 10,000.