Nearly half of coronavirus infections in Amsterdam are now caused by the Omicron variant – a twelvefold increase in the last eight days.

A random sample of 95 cases by the local health board (GGD) on December 20 returned 46 positive tests for Omicron. On December 12 Omicron was detected in just 4% of cases in a similar sample.

Omicron is more prevalent in Amsterdam than the rest of the country, where it accounted for an estimated 10% to 15% of infections last week. The public health agency RIVM expects it will become the dominant strain of coronavirus by the end of the year.

The latest daily figures showed coronavirus infections are still declining, but Wednesday’s figure of 13,460 was less than 1% below the number recorded on the same day last week.

Another 179 patients were admitted to hospital in the last 24 hours, while the number of people being treated fell by 94 to 2,275 – the lowest level for a month. There are 601 patients in intensive care, 14 fewer than on Monday.