A further 8,894 positive coronavirus cases were reported to the public health institute RIVM by 10am on Friday, a rise on Thursday’s total and the 10th day in a row the number of cases have outstripped the weekly average, website Nu.nl said.

In total, almost 48,000 people have tested positive for the virus over the past seven days, compared with 35,000 in the preceding week. The reason is likely to be largely down to extra testing, particularly the inclusion of more results from commercial testing centres in the figures, broadcaster RTL said.

The number of hospital and intensive care patients also increased, as more people were admitted to hospital than were discharged.

In total, 199 new patients were admitted to hospital, taking the total number to 1681, a rise of 33 on Thursday, patient coordination centre LCPS said. Thirty more people were transferred to intensive care, taking the total being treated in the specialist wards to 472, a rise of three on Thursday.

The government said on Tuesday that if the number of coronavirus cases does not start to decline, new measures to tackle the spread of the virus will be on the cards. Ministers have not yet indicated what measures could be taken.