Sex workers, driving instructors and masseurs have been ordered to stop work by the Dutch government as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Amsterdam’s famous red light district, with its legal and regulated brothels, was shut on March 15 but escorts, who travel to meet clients, have been able to continue work.

Government advice published late on Tuesday said that the call girls had to stop working. Escorts are among the “contact professions” banned from working to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Others include masseurs and driving instructors, who cannot observe the 1.5 metre social distancing rules inside a car.

The government advice is meant to clarify and explain the measures announced on Monday. The Netherlands extended its ban on all public gatherings to June 1 from April 6.

The Dutch government has already ordered the closure of schools, bars, restaurants and gyms, as well as the country’s famous cannabis cafes and sex clubs.

Campaigners working with sex workers said the closure of strip clubs and brothels until at least April 6 would leave many women with no income.

A Dutch sex worker has set up a crowdfunding page to raise money for prostitutes hit by the closure of brothels in Amsterdam. Hella Dee - the pseudonym of a prostitute who is a member of PROUD, the Dutch union for sex workers - set up the appeal, saying the closures have hit sex workers and their families.

New figures released yesterday (wed) revealed a further 80 people had died from coronavirus in the Netherlands, taking the death toll to a total of 356, and another 852 were diagnosed with it.

The increase in of 852 patients was the highest recorded in a single day in the Netherlands to date.