Recorded coronavirus cases have declined in the last week at testing stations and in hospitals, but the public health agency RIVM said the healthcare system was still under severe strain.

The number of positive tests fell by around 5% to 147,982, equivalent to 822 per 100,000 people. Around the 25 health board regions the infection rate varied from 566 in Groningen to 1183 in Zuid-Limburg.

Hospital admissions dropped by 7% to 1,998, while 343 people were admitted to intensive care, 8.5% fewer than a week ago.

‘The long treatment time for patients with Covid-19 means the pressure on hospitals remains very high, despite the slight decline in the number of new admissions to the nursing wards and intensive care in recent weeks,’ the RIVM said in its latest weekly bulletin.

Infections declined fastest in teenagers and people over 65, but the number of positive tests in children under five was up by 4.6%.

Particularly concerning is the fact that the positive test rate remains high at 21.3%, almost the same as a week ago, while the number of people going for tests fell by 7%.

The RIVM said the high proportion was partly due to more people with mild symptoms self-testing rather than going to the local health service (GGD) testing facility.

On Tuesday 18,017 positive tests were recorded, the lowest daily figure for more than 3 weeks, but the positivity rate increased to 21.3%.

‘We expect the percentage of people with positive test results to keep rising because more people with positive self tests will go to the GGD test site.’ The RIVM said it was important for people with a positive self-test result to take a confirmatory test at the GGD.